Her man
by Daddysadist
Summary: Elena is the daughter of a Don, Grayson Gilbert. Who is afraid that his enemies, The Michaelsons, due to their enmity would cause her harm, he gives away important area under his charge to Damon Salvatore, who is an emerging Don from Italy in exchange for marrying his daughter and ensuring her safety against the Michaelsons. Will Elena accept this marriage. AU/AH/DE
1. I'll wait for you

Never out without guards, so never out alone, why did she think tonight was going to be a good idea, why did she rebel the rules and regulations set by father. She swallowed thick as the muzzle of the gun brushed against the popping nerve in her forehead. "Please." She mouthed. They wouldn't listen because his father hadn't listened to their demands.

She squeezed her eyes shut seeing that finger almost about to push against the trigger. There was a bang, but not the one that was a sound following by ending Elena's life, but outside this warehouse. She was saved. Grayson Gilbert and his men had arrived to save her.

/

/

Grayson was sitting in his office still thinking over his now decision that he made. This was probably the worst escape, Elena never wanted to live by his rules and that is what got her into so much trouble today. She almost died at the hands of some common kidnapping gang or at least hurt; he didn't care about those people because they were all dead as he was smoking now.

But he thought about him.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in." he got up from his maroon cushiony chair and greeted Damon Salvatore, the man who was new in the world of Mafia, six years ago , no one would know how this young man would turn the whole underworld around- clubs after clubs, areas after areas were becoming his property on the daily, he took charge of most of the mafia controlled areas in America now. He had carried it from Italy and by his speed and passion for this crime- Grayson was assured that soon he'd conquer the world.

"It's great to meet you Gilbert, finally." He stood in front of him. Grayson gestured him to sit down on one of the chairs in front of the huge wood office desk. Damon grinned as he offered him a cigar and politely declined by shaking his head, "What do you prefer, rain or the sun?"

Grayson raised a brow looking at Damon sit back. He cleared his throat, "Sun."

"hmm , okay now that we know each other to some level, let's talk business." Damon coughed than sat up straight, "I know you have the biggest control residing over Moscow's areas Gilbert."

Grayson rolled his eyes , waving his hand as if telling him to stop, "I should have seen it coming, you dont waste a minute now do you."

Damon nodded, "Yes but I have a very suitable deal, a negotiation plan plus some benefits."

"I don't need it, I called you here because I need help with something else, you can keep your plan back and take the whole Moscow clubs and areas without any negotiation plan or any percentage profit cut." He sat straight, Damon narrowed his eyes, "You want me to give you both my kidneys or something- because I am a rare blood type, if that's the case-"

"My daughter is twenty one years old."

"Wonderful out of context information." He huffed.

"I called you here because I want you to marry her." He said plainly. Damon frowned thinking he heard it wrong or maybe this was some 'underworld' cheat code.

"I'd spit milk if I was drinking it." He said, then asked again, "You want me to marry your daughter in exchange for the areas that you worked to get half your life and I get to have your daughter?"

"Yes." Grayson got up and threw an envelop in front of Damon, he opened it and took out the picture in it, "Kol Michaelson."

"I don't know where that asshole saw my daughter, but he has been stalking her, everywhere I send her, he gets there, he sends threats, he is obsessed with her." He gritted his teeth, "To a psychotic illness point I must emphasize, besides – the Michaelson have always been my biggest enemies, they will hurt my daughter and it's to get back at me."

"So what is marrying her to me going to solve?"

"You are the only man that's so fastly growing in our world, the Michaelson steer clear of you, they're afraid, I want you to marry my daughter, for some time till I hunt down Kol and kill him, if you want to dissolve the marriage later it's up to you."

"You're kidding me right?." He looked at Grayson with a dropped jaw, then shook his head, "The Moscow deal is a big deal Grayson, look I'll give you a 40 percent cut, my men can do way better there then what you-"

"You take it or leave it Damon, I don't care, you want Moscow- you marry Elena."

"Elena? Grayson what if I give you this- I will hunt down Kol Michaelson for you in exchange of Moscow?" he raised a brow, he shook his head, "I cant take more risks, everyday things get out of hand- my daughter wants to explore the world without life guards, well I want back up for her."

Damon stayed quiet for a while , Grayson returned to his chair and sat down , reaching for his cigar, he never picked it up as his hands almost on their won took the medium sized framed picture on his desk, he sighed, "I am a greedy man for the world, who would be interested in your 40 percent Salvatore, but for my daughter, I always prefer her smile over billions of dollars."

Damon shook his head, "Gray in understand what you're worried about but-"

"There is no ifs and buts, You want your power right? You will marry her."

Damon got up from the chair, "I'll think about your ridiculous offer while you can think about my wise one." He turned around to go and when he was about to open the door, someone moved the handle and came inside. She stopped in her tracks looking at the man standing in her way, "Dad I thought you're alone, I'll come back later."

"No come in sweetheart." Her father called.

This slender framed girl did manage to take his breath away, her long cascades of brown hair in waves almost made her look like some mythical Greek goddess, her spotless smooth skin, the red shirt that hugged her curvy frame. He couldn't find strength to tear his eyes away from her, women had always been a weakness for him and that's why he stayed away from pursuing relationships with them , it always came down to his business and he wouldn't let anything take that away from him.

When she went passed by his side to go to her father, and he got to smell how divine her fragrance was , that was it, he decided he was taking the deal, he shrugged and went out the door.

/

/

"What?" Elena's eyes widened as she got up her bed, "I am not marrying anyone dad." She announced, "I don't want to get married this way."

"Elena it's for your own good." He instructed as he walked close to her bedside where she was standing, almost out of breath, "But Dad, I have so much to do."

"You can honey, With him by your side no one will dare to hurt a hair on your head, he's that powerful." He said holding her by her shoulders, she moved her head in no, "But you are powerful."

"I am not anymore Elena, I just want to protect you baby, you remember what's been happening these past days, one of these times I am afraid I'll lose you." He cupped her face and talked to her tenderly, "Dad I want to something before marrying someone you choose for me."

His phone ringed loudly and Elena huffed annoyed as she moved away, "Yes it's Grayson here."

For the next few moments there was complete silence in the room , Elena was bummed- her Dad was listening to the conversation and the clock was ticking, when he closed the call he turned to her, "Well That settles it, he's agreed too.

/

/

A/N

So someone requested I write a story similar to 'some by virtue fall' well here it is, though the plot is a little resembling, the story will be different, I'll try,

This is a test chapter and if I get good reviews, I'll continue or else delete this.

Read night and day if you haven't.

Review?


	2. He's got the fire

AN

Hey guys I got an over-whelming response on my first chapter and I thought hey why not actually try with this story because originally I wasn't interested much. Some of you guys are expecting a whole hell angst lol. Ya'll nasty. So be kind like I was to give this a chance, and leave reviews.

CHAPTER 2

Damon swirled the drink in his hand, the color of his bourbon almost identical to the eyes he saw earlier. Such wide doe eyes. Such soft skin that screamed for a touch. He didn't know how long he was lost swirling that drink, seeing her eyes at the bottom of his glass. He wanted her at any cost. Even if he had to give up the area he was being given. He needed that gem in his watch. Elena.

His brother coughed to which he looked up and shrugged.

"You've been having eye sex with your drink for fifteen minutes." He said sitting on the velvet textured sofa in front of his brothers. Damon rolled his eyes and kept his drink on the glass table aside and sat up straight, "I've lost focus."

"Yeah I can see that." He chuckled, Damon shook his head, "It has to happen someday, it's a good deal along with marrying his daughter."

"Benefits." Stefan muttered and got up, "Let's play our decision game."

"Gah! Shit okay shoot." Damon sat back and almost groaned as Stefan started counting on his fingers, "Give me Cons."

"Cons." He sighed, "I'll have to be loyal."

"That's one."

"Okay I'll have to protect her which means ending business with Michaelsons and declaring war." He bit the inside of his cheek thinking of more things, "I'll have more people to take care of."

"Okay okay you're repeating shit, give me pros." Stefan raised a brow. Damon grinned, "Okay I have many pros in line."

"Yes sex , sex, sex." Stefan said with a poker face.

"That's one of them- not all." He picked up his glass and took a sip, "Pro, close relations with Gilberts which is a business pro at all times. Another pro is eradicating occasional backstabbing sluts , pro number three is children."

"You want kids?" Stefan asked with surprise almost.

"Hell yes I want kids, we're building this God damn empire which obviously I cant take to my grave, it's up to you and me to extend our nearly extinct family." He grinned, "And If I am going to have kids-Why bastards? Pro number four is that Elena isn't some whore, she's brought up in an upper class well cultured mafia family, possibly a virgin, well behaved girl who will make a perfect home maker. It's like she was put on this earth for me, which means the Pros outweigh cons and I am most definitely making a good decision."

"Right you go get her." Stefan said with fake enthusiasm, "You're making this shit up Damon, you are making up excuses, she doesn't know you and she is not going to settle for you."

He shrugged, "That's not my problem."

"Yes it is, she wont love you." He spat. Damon huffed, "Look whatever, this is a good deal Stefan, what do you want me to do , take her out on 500 dates, I don't have time for that. Besides her father has put this deal forward."

"This trial and failure marriage proposal is disgusting." He shook his head disappointedly. Damon got up from his chair, "We played the decision game and I won so go buy a best man tux or something."

"A nice way of telling me I am your best man." He called as Damon left the room.

"Yeah what other choice do I have , fuck off already."

(--HMHMHM--)

"I don't have a problem with the way he looks, I just don't want to get married." Elena protested, "I don't want to marry anyone this way, I want to do something with my life."

Her father walked to her bed and sat on the baby pink satin sheets , tapping the side for her to sit on, she sighed loudly and walked over there to sit next to him, "Why don't you understand?"

"You almost died the other day Elena." her father explained as he caressed her cheek, she looked away but her father said suddenly, "Ah uh look at me princess." He cupped the side of her face, she mumbled silently, "I didn't die Dad, I came back."

"But I was close to losing you Elena, I don't have that access anymore." He pursed his lips, "One day I'll be helpless."

"Dad-"

"Damon is a powerful man, he will make sure you stay safe at all times." His other hand held her hand pressing it for assurance, "At this point in my life Elena I just want you to be okay, I just want to see you happy and healthy at every stage in life."

"I will be Dad." She started but he interrupted her.

"I lost your mother due to Michaelsons, their family lost people and ours too- but I will not take a chance with you. Don't you think I wish for you to find your own happiness Elena? I do but the kind of life we have, that'll end up badly, I know you don't want to marry him, under any other circumstances I would have let you do what you wanted, I would never want you to marry a bigger criminal than I am, but I am forced to do so."

Elena didn't speak, she just looked at how her father cared so deeply about her safety, she had never hated her life more than right now , when she couldn't do what she wanted, when she was forced to be in this marriage where she never knew this man, never talked to him, didn't even got a good glance of his face, she just remembered running into someone and moving forward in a second. But then her dad was so worried about her, it was causing him to be up all night, eating less and she cared, she couldn't let his heath to deteriorate like that.

"Okay fine." She sighed with a heavy heart, fighting the tears in her eyes.

"Okay what? Okay as in yes." Her father asked with a raised brow.

She nodded, "Yeah okay as in yes I'll marry this Mr. I don't know and care about."

He father got up and kissed the top of her head, "I am so proud of you my baby, everything is going to be okay." He held up her chin, "Cheer up, call your friends, arrange your dream day wedding."

She got up and nodded with a forced smile, "I'll do that, that's all I'll be able to do."

This was going way too fast, with every day she was coming closer to the day she would be married to this man, she didn't know. Caroline , her best friend was helping her so shopping, go for facials, which had started to distract her from the wedding stress. She was pushing the problems and ignoring like they never existed. There was a party every day. Finalizing a wedding dress, a location. She just wanted to get this over with, so when Caroline started planning a whole bachelorette , island wedding plan she quickly put a stop to it, she decided on a garden wedding. It was simple, didn't scream for attention. She wanted it to be over soon. Every night she'd wake up and sit in the middle of the bed feeling a hole in her chest consuming her whole body, every nerve inside her telling her to run as far way as possible but she couldn't at this point, this wedding shopping, this venue- it wasn't some game, it was soon going to turn to a real wedding which she wasn't prepared for, she didn't want to be someone's wife, especially to a person she didn't knew. Tears would start rolling down her cheeks and the next hours up till the morning, she'd feel tension in her body till her friends would come over and she'd be distracted for the day.

It was finally here, the day she'd be given to some else, she knew she wasn't going to be with this man for ever but it was going to be a long time with him. She was up at 5 and had gotten some sleep after Caroline and hers almost overdose on frozen yogurt and beer. She was almost nauseated as she went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, she peeked over to look at Caroline who was still asleep on her bed. She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair, a churning sound in her tummy was making her sick. It would be good to get some fresh air, she thought as she went into the balcony of her room, she sat on one of the chairs there and began to breathe in and out slowly, trying to calm down her alerted nerves.

A sudden ringing from her phone made her roll her eyes and she got up, stumbling back to her room to pick up her phone, "It's way to early to call." She snapped.

"You picked up though."

That's when she realized she never checked the dialer Id on the phone, she asked walking back to the balcony, "Whose this?"

"The man you'll be marrying today." His voice smooth but with a hint of humor. She clutched her fist at her side, her cheeks getting red for no reason, "I don't think it's a good idea to know eachother at this point."

"You sound pissed."

"How would you ever know that?" she said with sarcasm, "I don't know where you got my number but it's super creepy."

"You're being very insensitive Elena." he said after a chuckle, "I got it from my to be father In law, look just tell me are you up?"

"Yes, I still don't have the super power of attending calls in my sleep." She said with a poker face, "So how about you come downstairs for a while?"

"What? You're at my place?" she asked going outside on her balcony again. "Yeah, cute PJs by the way."

She groaned, "Arghh you're such a creep, I am not coming down to see you Mister."

"Then can I come up to see you?" he asked. Elena spotted him a little far from the gates of their mansion, his blue Camaro parked behind him. She narrowed her eyes getting a clear view, the sun was still not up but there was good enough light to spot him. "No absolutely not."

"Elena you're being very hostile, I am your to be husband." He said with a smirk on his face, she cringed at the words, "What do you want? I am not allowed outside without security."

"That's not a problem, I am a one man army baby, isn't that why Grayson is giving you away to me- You'll be needing no guards around me." he said confidently. Elena stomped her foot, "Okay okay stop kissing your ass, five minutes and then you'll go."

"Okay." He agreed.

Elena quickly grabbed her coat and went downstairs slowly, she walked outside in the cold and told her guards that her "fiancé " was here to see her and they needed a little privacy.

She went outside and walked in his direction, "Hello."

"Hey." He grinned, extending his hand for a hand shake but she didn't move, "Damon." She pursed her lips, "Look I want you to back off okay. I cant do this. I am not ready."

She could see how his calm face turned hard and stiff , she continued, "Maybe you have your life figured out but I don't, I tried to explain this to my father but he doesn't understand okay, he is forcing this bubble of protection that I don't want. I rather die than being in a relationship like this."

"You're begging me to back off."

"Yes, I am begging you." She swallowed thick, "You understand right?"

"Yeah you're right but Elena I just cant say no." he leaned against the hood of his car, "I gave your dad options other than marrying you for Moscow, he just doesn't understand." He copied her earlier tone, "I really want control over that area."

"So you'll not back off?" she asked with a raised brow, he nodded, "I don't want to and I won't."

"I am never going to your wife Damon, this is a bad deal, I don't know how to be a wife and I cant be one, is that area worth it? Spending your life with someone who doesn't-"

"Elena." he got ahead and held her wrist pulling her forward to him, "I am not a dumb twelve-year-old boy that you're convincing with your stupid excuses, you want to convince someone? go convince your father and hope he agrees because no way in hell am I backing off."

She tried to pull her hand away from his hold, she could see how dark his eyes were, the sun was rising and with every ray his dark eyes grew lighter to a shade of blue almost stealing her breath away at how sharp his features was as if he came out of a magazine, it was almost art and she couldn't look away, or maybe it was the morning effect that he looked so gorgeous, how his eyes pierced into her soul almost, like he could read what she thinks, what she feels, "You are going to be my wife in a matter of few hours and I expect you to be ready." He let her wrist go, then reached for a fancy bag on the side of his car that previously went un-noticed to her , "You'll need this."

She was pressing her wrist for relief as he held her other hand and made her hold the strings of the bag. "Now get going."

"I don't like you." She spat.

"My pleasure darling." He grinned, she rushed back to her house and when she turned around to check if he was there she was him leaning against his car, he raised a brow then waved with a grin, she mouthed something vile like 'asshole' because he gave a shameless grin and turned to his car.

(--HMHM--)

Caroline was almost in tears as her stylist was setting her curls in a messy beautiful updo, decorating it with rhinestone clips, that looked like diamonds in her chocolate colored hair. A tiara adorned with diamonds with a white veil was set on the crown of her head. Her wedding gown was a sheath one with a good amount of train. The gown fell to the floor beneath her hips, carefully woven patterns on her dress around the junction and downwards increased it's beauty, it's bust lifted, giving her a little boost but over all her dress was soft and romantic and if she wasn't so paranoid, she would feel very comfortable in this dress.

Caroline opened the bag Damon had given her earlier and from the box took out a necklace , which she gasped at, it was platinum with round and cushion cut diamonds shaped like paper flowers. "This is beautiful." Caroline touched the shining diamonds. She had to admit it was pretty breath taking and she wanted to hold it but she resisted the temptation as Caroline held it up, "You should wear it today."

"Isnt that a good idea." She said sarcastically "I don't care."

"You do , you like it."

"No shit sherlock, but he cant buy me with this necklace." She said firmly, Caroline rolled her eyes, "Yeah so your mad at the guy, you shouldn't be mad at this Necklace , it's so pretty, it deserves to be worn."

"No."

"Come on Elena, just please wear it once and then you can throw it into my purse." She joked standing up and went behind her wearing it to her, "Arghh Caroline what am I doing?"

"Elena it's all going to come together."

"It won't okay, I am going to ruin my life by marrying this guy." She looked at herself in the mirror," who just goes around marrying people like it's nothing- he doesn't respect marriage like I do, he's not the right guy."

"Elena it's literally five minutes till you walk down the aisle ." Caroline almost squealed, "Look you're panicking and I am panicking, we need to calm down."

Elena nodded , "Get me water."

"Okay just calm down."

(--HMHM--)

Anyother time maybe this would have been a beautiful day for her, walking down the aisle surrounded by cherry trees, soft music from the band on one side playing harp and flutes. The purple and red flowers that already existed there and the fragrance that was calming her nerves. In the distance a clear pond of reflecting crystal clear water. A few meters from it was the altar, decorated with white curtains tied to the side and pink and white roses around the frame. Very few people there were those whom she was familiar with, her brother Jeremy, her cousins , of course her father by her side, whose arm she was holding too tightly, and when they reached their destination, she could see Damon standing there in a black tux, his crystal blue eyes trying to get a good view of her face, she turned her head down feeling repulsed from his behavior. Her father gave her hand in his and she almost had that courage to turn back and run for her life, if he hadn't held her hand, she would have, she shouldn't have searched him up two hours ago because now he was suddenly this new person who killed way too easily and was rumored to eat live animals, basically he was screwed up, he killed people for a living, her father did too but he would never hurt her. He killed people, he was in drug rackets , gambling rackets- alcohol businesses, anything toxic that sold.

She was so nervous right now, when he left her hand to stand infront of her , she held her hands together, they were definitely sweating. She parted her fingers , giving them some fresh air, too far gone in her thoughts to even notice the ceremony had started.

"Do you Elena?"

Maybe she was asked twice because she didn't hear the first time. Say no her heart said, say no and run for your life.

"I do." She choked out the words feeling like the biggest coward there, she deserved this , she told herself , she couldn't dare to stand up for herself so she deserved this, it wasn't her father's fault, it wasn't this asshole's fault, this was her fault.

"And do you Damon Salvatore take Elena Gilbert as your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and health, till death does you apart?"

"I do." His voice bold, firm and confident.

His blonde-haired brother handed him a princess cut diamond ring which he wore to her finger, brushing his thumb over her finger, she bit on her lower lip as she wore a platinum matte ring to his finger. Leaving his hand immediately, and then the words she was dreading. "You may now kiss the bride."

She swallowed thick as he stepped forward and pulled her veil back from her head over the tiara, when she looked up at him, she felt like she was frozen, she told herself to shut off, she didn't have to feel this, it was just a damn kiss. But the way he looked at her, like he would consume her by just looking at her, the blue of his eyes was hypnotic. "Aren't I lucky." He mouthed but she could read his lips perfectly and then she cursed herself as she couldn't look away from his lips, he cupped her face and she felt a blush creeping up her cheeks as he lowered his mouth on her, pressing the softest kiss to her lips, she felt like she'd melt into a puddle, she'd faint and simply embarrassed after that. A clap went around and when they parted, she realized that she had been clutching on his arms.

She bit down on her lip feeling embarrassed, not more than she would have been if she had fainted obviously. He shouldn't have clouded her mind that way, she thought finding another reason to be mad at him.

At sunset, a cake was cut, some dancing was done with a whole lot of un-necessary congratulations. Mostly people from business and Elena didn't care for a conversation, it was already a hard day, she just looked up at all the cherry flowers and found some calm in that beauty. When she would look away from them she'd find her husband's eyes on her and she wanted to mad at him. She didn't want to call him husband in her head and this man was her husband in real life.

"Okay enough angry bird expressions." He said a while later, letting his arm around her, "Calm down."

"Why? are you not my husband anymore." She said in a low voice so no one would hear. He laughed, "You're surprisingly persistent."

"I am." She shrugged.

"So what's so bad about knowing your partner after marriage?" he asked turning her to himself.

She nodded, "Hmmm well for one I could say maybe I don't like you, maybe I don't want to be married to you, maybe I would want someone else, uh like that guy." She pointed behind him, he looked back and saw a light brown curly haired man talking to Stefan, she continued, "So what will I do, ask you for permission to go on dates? And what is my excuse, that we don't have chemistry."

"That guy? He looks wrecked , oh yes he owns a active wear company, not good designs , boring advertisements."

"He has good hair." Elena spoke as he turned back to her, "I like curly haired guys."

"So you're my wife a curling iron away." He shrugged.

"Never mind, It wont suit your look." She said annoyed.

"So you like my look." He winked, she clutched her fists, but took a deep breath and gave a cheeky smile, "No I just think you're hopeless."

He ran a hand through his hair, "Aw that's going to look bad, gorgeous Elena Gilbert Salvatore and her hopeless with looks husband."

She pursed her lips and kept from the blushing at his random compliments, he was screwing with her head obviously, "Don't call me that."

"What? Gorgeous ?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Don't call me a Salvatore." She said firmly now.

"So I can call you gorgeous?"

She shook her head walking away from him, he chuckled, "Come on baby cheeks, that's not how we talk to our husband."

(--HMHMHM--)

She wasn't waking up from this nightmare, she thought as she was standing in the room booked for them before they left for Atlanta, apparently they mainly lived there but travelled throughout the air , staying at Seattle , Los Angelis or Miami around the summers. Damon was out talking to Stefan and she took the opportunity and went inside quickly , she locked herself in the bathroom getting out of her wedding dress and took a shower, brushed her hair and got into her PJs , she wished she'd just fall asleep before he even shows up but when she opened the bathroom door he was standing right in front of her, with a smirk on his face, "Dick move Mrs. Salvatore."

"I don't know what you're saying." She moved out of his way. He rolled his eyes and took off his coat, loosening the bow around his collar, "Gosh I wanted to take you out of that dress."

"Behave." She sat on the bed and pulled the covers on her, "I am very tired."

"Yeah I get it." He chuckled, "I saw it coming."

"Saw what coming."

"Don't act like it's not there." He sat as he sat on the other side of the bed, her cheeks went warm and ears heating up, "What?"

"Okay keep acting like a child or we can settle things like adults." He said with some seriousness. She raised a brow as he almost ordered, "Sit up Elena."

She gulped as she sat up and tucked her hair back, "Damon I already told you I am not ready."

"That's not negotiation Elena." he turned to her, "Don't play games with me." he held her wrist and the way he held it shook her, she bit down on her lip, "Please Damon, I've never done this, please I am scared."

Her eyes welled up in tears, but she kept them back , she sucked up her tears looking away, "I know about all your affairs okay, this maybe a regular thing for you but I need time please."

"Stop crying." He said firmly.

"I am not crying." And more tears followed as she hated herself from breaking into sobs, "Urghh God i-"

"Okay okay." He left her hand and sat back on his pillow, when he saw the tissue box on the side he plucked out a few and went closer to her, her face was hidden by her hands so she almost shrieked when he held her hands away from her face, but she calmed down as he wiped her tears, "I knew you wouldn't be easy." He grinned.

She looked away as he wiped the tears from her cheeks, "Okay take your time."

"Really?" she asked in a groggy voice, "uh you wont seduce me right?"

He chuckled at her words, "I won't force you."

"Right that." She said sitting back almost on the edge , he held her just before she fell back and she gave an embarrassed laugh, "I am low on sugar forgive me."

"Dinner? Have dinner with me." he asked running circles on her palm, "Platonic no-seducing dinner."

The way his finger moved on her skin tingled her and she swallowed thick, wasn't this seducing because it felt good?

She got up from the bed, "I forgot to uh- brush my teeth, just order something okay?"

He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh, "Okay Mrs. Salvatore."

"Elena , I am Elena. she snapped."

A/N

So guys that's it, I know most of you want me to make him an asshole or whatever but I am trying to make it some what realistic, even though the plot is thickly dramatic lol, look he will be an asshole here and there, but if you want the exact story just go read some by virtue fall. I just feel marriage is a sacred thing and when you are so close to a person , hate is the furthest thing, he's not a softie okay, neither whipped yet, he's just in his 'honeymoon' phase , you get me?

II wrote this in one sitting so I think I deserve a good review, I'll post according to response okay? site is doing problems with separations between scenes sorry about that


	3. My life of sin

A/N:

So a little late on this story , the reviews are so encouraging and the response is very over whelming. I want to thank everyone who reads and reviews my work. Scarletrose, blue herons, joy lande, jennagilbert7, tinhineneA, amazingaisha, mariahaprilmay, imarifirst, anne1994 and a whole buncha guest reviews that aren't showing up under story right now but I have read them from mail, thankyou so much. Read night and day and also give me ideas for that one , this one too because I am on a MAJOR writer's block. Here's my attempt though.

CHAPTER # 3

It was an hour past midnight now, the food was here much was a roast , some cooked vegetables , a pasta with a cheese topping and red velvet cake, when she saw the food , her eyes widened, "You-um"

"Well random guesses." He chuckled, "See if you are a vegetarian, we've got cooked vegetables- sweet tooth girl? We have a red velvet cake, interested in food that seems foreign but is so American, we have Cheese filled pasta- and the roast, I really wanted a roast."

She sat on the foot of the bed, "Oh so there is a thought process going on behind a meal."

"Absolutely." He grinned, "So." He gestured towards the table. She got up and sat on the love seat in front of the glass table the food was on. "Can you cook?" she said as she took a fork and started eating the pasta. He too sat by her side , "Under certain conditions, when I feel like it."

"Oh."

"Ahuh- what about you?" he asked with a raised brow. She shook her head, "No I am bad at it, Dad doesn't let me get in the kitchen anymore, I wanted to cook him a meal on his birthday, but I just forgot mid way I was cooking- guh- it was a disaster."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was making him spaghetti , but with the sauce that I make , I was following this recipe Caroline forwarded , where I had to blend tomatoes and some spices , and I just dropped the vinegar bottle cap in the blender, without noticing and boom, sauce and spices all over the place." She bit her lip, "But I didn't give up, I called up staff, ordered a new blender, started over and burned the kitchen." She could tell he was struggling to not laugh in her face, he stuffed a lot of chicken into his mouth so he wouldn't laugh. She huffed, "Oh don't kill yourself."

"I am sorry okay, it's not everyday you hear about a person who is so absent minded." He sat back, his hand almost unconsciously started caressing the back of her arm, how he relished her soft skin, how greatly he wanted to touch it with his lips, he was so lost in that feeling that he completely missed what she had said, "What?"

"I am not absent minded, but cooking is hard, I do want to learn, everyone expected I'd be good at it since I was a studio art student, but hey, cooking is not art, I mean it is art, but flavor and appearance are two whole different things."

He nodded as she continued to explain, 'God she talks so much' he thought.

"So you're an artist." He interrupted one of her randomly thrown in story. She nodded, "Yes, I was going to college before The Michealsons started the stalking and dad had to pull me out of college, it wasn't safe." She sighed deeply, she reached for the cake slice then left it, "I don't really like to eat dessert at night, I get a belly ache."

She too sat back on the chair, there was an awkward silence for a good three minutes before he cleared his throat, "So the Michealsons, did the kidnapping really happen?"

"Not by them , by several gangs, first they use to send threats , then a couple of days ago, I sneaked out of the mansion with Caroline, we were going for the Vegas escape, but I got kidnapped mid-way." She bit the inside of her cheek, "And that sneaking out and getting kidnapped led me to being married today."

He rolled his eyes, "Get over it already."

"Get over it? My life took a whole 180 degree turn Sir, all my life , I've just been told what to do, whether it's about not cooking or marrying someone I don't know." She got up and stomped her foot. He looked at her with a raised brow, "Well maybe it's because you burn down the kitchen or get kidnapped."

"I cant believe you threw that right in my face." She huffed and walked to the bed, He too got up and shrugged, "It's the truth Elena, you need people to survive."

"So I need you? I doubt I need you, you need me!" she said in a loud voice, "You need me because without me, you would never have the Russian area which was until recently under Dad's control, you married me for you, who would wanna give up five girlfriends a day for marrying a virgin who isn't safe." She spat. He threw his hands in the air, "I would have that area, if not today then tomorrow."

"So why did you marry me?" she put her hands on the blanket and asked "So you can get street credit for screwing Grayson gilbert's daughter." When the words got out, she then regretted it because suddenly the air around them was thick and serious, he stepped forward and she unknowingly sank lower in the bed, he held her chin, propping her face up to meet his eyes, the intense blue did rob her off her breath, her shaking hands clenched in the blanket as he leaned down, "Elena you will not speak to me that way, I did not sign up to be stuck with a bratty sixteen-year old trapped in a twenty one year old's body, now listen clearly, no matter how much the area is included in this deal, I like to think aside that, I wanted to marry you because it was a good time to settle down, I respect you and I respect our marriage and I hope you do the same. I agreed to some of your choices because you felt pressured but that doesn't mean I am not in control, don't ever think I am not in control." She stayed silent this time, she couldn't muster up more words to throw at him and when he left her chin, he walked towards the foot of the bed and picked up his coat, he put it on and she sat up, "Where are you going?"

"I got a message earlier, I have to meet someone before we leave tomorrow besides you wanted privacy." He shrugged.

"You just said you like to think outside of Business and now you're going to 'see' someone on the night of your marriage." She folded her arms across her chest, "Not to forget leaving me alone In a hotel room which is not why my Dad trusted you with me."

"Hey I am your husband, not your watch dog, but security preparations are on point so umm enjoy." He bowed dramatically, she shook her head at him, "Okay. Good bye then."

(-HMHMHM-)

She brushed away the annoying hair from her face , the sunlight was bothering her and she was pretty sure it was morning, yet she didn't want to wake up, she didn't want to face reality that she was living a new life now but somehow she gathered strength to look at the time , it was about nine o'clock. She sat up in her place and reached for her Cell phone, Caroline had bombarded her with messages, asking her how everything was going or if she was dead by now, she replied to her in a message that everything was going fine right now.

The voice from the shower confirmed Damon was back from last night, which was suspicious because she was a light sleeper and should have been able to hear him come back , yet she didn't, she rubbed her eyes and waited for him to come out so she could freshen up, the bell from outside the suite made her groan and she got up to answer the door.

"Breakfast." The server said with a big smile, he left the trolley inside and asked if she needed anything, "No not anything I can think of, thank you." When he went out the door, Elena closed the door after him and turned to the food, she picked up a croissant and took a bite, her eyes stopped on the bouquet of red roses, she picked out a flower and brought it close to her nose to smell it when the door from the bathroom clicked open, "Look who's up."

She turned around and her jaw dropped seeing him in just a towel, wrapped around his lower body, his dark hair wet, his skin looked fresh and clear of any imperfections, water droplets running down his chest to his abs. "Uh yeah breakfast just arrived and-" she kept the croissant back on the plate, her throat was getting drier by the moment, "These flowers are-"

"You like them? See I knew you were a flower typa girl." He grinned walking toward the cupboard, "You weren't up so I picked out some clothes for ironing, hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." She still struggled with her behavior. "I really like the roses , thanks." She touched her chest to stable her heartbeat, he walked towards her , almost cornering her, she stepped back and swallowed thick feeling the wall behind her back, she knew that he was aware of his effect on her, he was aware that he was attractive because no one would be so confident walking around almost naked if they didn't know they were attractive, he grinned, "I was a little harsh on you and then I went outside, thought about it, you know I told myself how wrong I was for just expecting you'd be okay with this, I mean I wanted to marry you, but obviously you didn't."

She was surprised how he could say it so easily, like rejection wasn't tearing him down, obviously he didn't love her but people have some ego problem, her father sometimes had the biggest ego issues, he always expected people to do what he wanted, he was used to it and he expected everyone to be used to it as well, so this whole 'I don't care you don't want me' thing wasn't sitting right in her stomach, either he didn't give second thoughts to things like marriage or maybe he was just very confident that the problem was not him, that he was perfect.

"That's what I've been saying since the start." Her voice was almost whispery, "If we really want to make this marriage work, we need a step by step procedure, we cant just accept each other so suddenly."

He nodded and backed a step, "I am down for what you think is right for our marriage Elena, but don't think of getting out of it, don't think of an escape and definitely don't think of ways to get rid of me, I just want you to be as comfortable as you can be, so you no longer feel forced into the marriage, doesn't mean I am giving you a choice." He stated firmly, "I am not a good man Elena, but i want to take this marriage seriously."

She licked her lower lip and sighed, "I understand."

"Good." He smirked and patted her cheek, "Go get dressed."

(-HMHMHM-)

They both went down to the lobby to check out, Elena waited in the sitting area also checking her phone, looking around, she spotted Damon's brother with a familiar woman, they both were talking , but Elena couldn't See the woman's face, just the back, that violet dress was so similar to- She got up and walked towards them, "CAROLINE." Her jaw dropped as she turned the blonde to herself, "What are you doing here?"

"Elena uh -I ." she stammered on her words. Elena palmed he face, "gosh why are you here with – with my Brother in law, sorry what's your name again."

"Stefan." The man with shiny light brown hair and light green eyes answered hesitantly.

"Yeah what are you doing here with him? Did you stay over? Oh my God don't tell me-" she cupped her mouth.

"Elena please." She clutched Elena's wrist and dragged her to a corner, gesturing Stefan to go. "Elena look-"

"You spent the night with Steven." She shook her friend, "he's a bloody mobster."

"Stefan." Caroline stated after a huff, "Look Elena it just happened okay, we were talking at the ceremony and we just clicked okay and then he invited me for dinner and one thing lead to another."

"So that's why you were blowing up my phone with texts and no unlike you I didn't give in, although it was my wedding night! I should have been the one with- where am I even going. Look Caroline double dates aren't going to happen, because they are dangerous people, my father is a criminal , I am used to this life, you aren't."

"Elena relax I am not marrying him, calm down, he's a nice guy- we just hung out for some while." Caroline sighed, "Look don't get so protective."

"Yes I will, these people lack empathy and this whole having fun with a mobster might be a good idea but this will end up bad." Elena looked back and saw Damon looking around in the sitting area, she rolled her eyes snapping her fingers, "Over here."

"Oh I can see how bad your life is." Caroline said sarcastically, Elena raised a brow, "To quote my husband ' he's in control'. "

"Oh poor guy." Caroline pouted taking a step back, "Now if your Mommy lecture is done."

"It's not a mommy lecture Care I am serious." She called after her friend who had walked away. She put her hands on her hips, "What's wrong with your brother?"

"What happened?"

"Caroline and him." She clapped her hands . His face scrunched up, "Well someone actually had fun last night."

"What does that mean?" she snapped.

"Let's just get going." He let his arm around her , gesturing her to move forward.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

Was this them working on their marriage, she hadn't seen him in three days except at nights, when he'd come to their shared bedroom for two hours hardly, before he'd get ready and go somewhere for his 'meetings'. She didn't expect this from her marriage, she was limited to this bedroom, which was so beautiful, a large master bed near the large glass windows which completely occupied one side of the room, off white silk curtains, a reading nook on one side which was the second most comfortable thing there beside the bed, Three body mirrors on the wall near the door, a beautiful dressing table at one corner , right outside the wardrobe, a single Persian rug in the middle of the room. Though this space was huge, she was sick of waking up and seeing it all day, going downstairs to eat and then coming back to this room, she felt like a caged bird, more than she use to feel in her house, at least she had Caroline, After the Stefan accident, she hadn't called yet, Elena was done unpacking and arranging her things, and now it was getting boring, she'd put on a vintage movie, read but that was all she could do , with literally zero human interaction. Despite the staff this house was empty. She was reading a book sitting near the window , when her phone beeped, Grayson had brought her a couple vacation to Bora Bora as a gift. Elena checked the whole package , resorts that were built on clear water, beautiful mountains- the paradise island experience. It sounded like a good idea.

About At twelve when the door to her room was shut, she woke up, surprised she was still sitting on the cushions , she had fallen asleep earlier without realizing. She got up and sighed, "You're back."

Damon tossed his coat on the couch, "Your back is gonna hurt from sleeping there." He pointed to the window side.

She looked back then at him, "I fell asleep without realizing it."

"Well go to bed." He shrugged as he went towards the cupboards, Elena followed him there, he was unbuttoning his shirt as he turned to her, "What?"

"Damon- uh Dad bought us a honeymoon trip." She said shyly, "To Tahiti." He raised a brow , "You want to go on a honeymoon?"

"Cant I?" her cheeks turned red, he chuckled, "You have a platonic honeymoon idea now? God you're ridiculous."

"Didn't you say we were going to work on our marriage?" she asked annoyed, he unbuckled his belt and she looked away, "And now you're making me ashamed of this idea, it's actually a good idea. We will be able to talk, from what I have seen, you are hardly home, i bet you are home for an hour."

"So it bothers you, don't you hate me?"

"I don't hate you, I just don't like you." She looked his way and he had just unzipped himself , she groaned, "Cover up already."

He laughed, at her red face, "You cant look at my dick and you want to go on a honeymoon? I am sorry but that is ridiculous."

She turned around to give him privacy while she ranted, "I expected this, I expected you to not go through with this."

"Okay let me be very clear, I don't want to go." He stated, she felt him behind her and turned , she bumped into his body, he was wearing dark grey sweats and a black half sleeved V-neck shirt, "Elena you know how I am exercising my control over this new headquarters I was given at my wedding, and honestly it's a lot of work, so I don't think, I'll be able to schedule a honeymoon in." he explained in a calm voice.

"Then what other way are we going to understand each other?" she backed away a few steps , "Damon just end your charade of this nice husband that you have on, you don't care about me, at least be honest about it, but don't expect me to magically fall in love with you."

"What do you want Elena, you have everything right here, this huge fucking room for you to do whatever you want, you have safety, you have my word on not pressuring you into sex. What else do you want?" he got ahead and held her wrist tightly, "Now I ask for something and it is that I don't want to go. I think all you want to do is get out, you don't want to understand me."

"How would you know Damon, you know nothing about me." she spat and pushed him, "You wanna paint me as the bitch, go on, but if you think I am going to stay in this room for the rest of my life, being guilty about how I am not the perfect wife, it's not going to happen, I gave you a chance, you kicked it." She walked to her side of the bed and got in, facing the window side of the bed, he huffed and walked to his side of the bed, "Elena."

"Don't talk to me." she snapped, stuffing her face into the pillow.

She felt the weight of the bed shift as he sat on his side, pulling up the blanket on himself. She dragged her body further away to the very edge , facing away from him. It was like everyday he was becoming more of a stranger, was it in her head but he actually didn't give a second fuck about this marriage. She dug her hand into the mattress, shutting her eyes as tightly as possible, she felt so alone in this huge house, tears were poking at the corners of her closed eyes, where the hell did her dad threw her, and she was actually somewhat invested in making this relationship right. Her body almost froze as kept his hand on her side, she thought he was going to turn her towards him but he simply pulled the blanket on her. She pretended to be asleep as he stroked her cheek. Her heart raced every time the back of his hand would stroke her face, no matter how much she repulsed it, the more her body found it soothing and it was actually lulling her to sleep.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

"This is your equivalent to a honeymoon?" her jaw dropped as she saw the invitation card, "A horse race." She kept the card on the table continuing to brush her hair, he came to stand behind her , making his tie, "It's a very interesting game. We can talk, we can watch business."

She nodded, "Oh so you bet money on one of the horses, didn't you?"

"Not yet." He grinned, "First we go and check them."

She picked up her mascara , coating her lashes with it, "As master says." She said sarcastically. He sighed, "Look you're going to have a good time today."

"Oh okay that just made my mood a whole lot better." She gave a toothy smile, he shook his head cupping her face and leant down pressing a kiss against her head, "That's my mission for today, bringing a smile on the face of a cursed bride."

"At least I am not a twenty eight year old Don, whose idea of a Sunday is betting money on animals." She looked up, "Ouch" she got up and turned to him, "Presentable or do I need a gun on me?"

"Haha very amusing mafia jokes , get your purse already." He let his arm around her, she got out of his hold and picked up her bag, going towards the door.

(-HMHMHM-)

They were sitting in the VIP stands , at some height from the ground, for the first time she was meeting some people other than staff, she was seated on a seat by Damon's side, looking at the ground, in between formally meeting the people Damon knew. Stefan was there and he had also betted on one of the horses, "He is last year's champion."

"Champion changes every year." Damon pointed out, "besides his profile is kind of meh."

"Meh? Seriously?" Stefan rolled his eyes, "Number 9 looks good." Damon pointed out the horse, "Just put the other four down, everyone else doesn't have a chance."

Elena narrowed her eyes, "You're going to kill four horses?"

"No honey, we just buy the other four riders." He explained, 'The other are losers."

"Nope I think seven is good, I just saw some highlights from other races, the brown horse, he is good." Elena pointed to one of the horses at the near end of the ground.

"That horse cant win for shit." Stefan stated, "He won four years ago, maybe you watched the highlights from that."

She shrugged, "Well I bet my money on seven then okay." Thinking if she'd get a rise out of the either of them, they were already so crazy about this.

"you're betting money?" her husband asked surprised, "Yes I am, I am gonna go and invest in a good horse excuse me." she got up and went out of the cabin, She registered her about seven hundred dollars on the number seven horse, praying before she signed and put the receipt in her purse, she turned around to walk back to their VIP stands, when she bumped into a woman, tall , burgundy short hair, dressed in a white suit, she smiled at Elena, "Oh I am so sorry Mrs. Salvatore."

She smiled back shaking her hand, "It's fine, uh sorry my husband didn't introduce me to you so uh I don't know what your name is."

Although she felt like she had seen this woman somewhere, like in a magazine, she nodded, "I am Rose, Damon's ex girlfriend."

"Oh ah yes , I saw you in the paper, you're a model right?" she asked now some what uncomfortable in front of her , more insecure looking at her slender tall body, her sparkling eyes. Her skin glowing like light.

"Yes that's right." She laughed, "I did see your pictures, but you're so much beautiful in person." She complemented, "Where are you watching the race from."

"Uh- at VIP stands."

"So Damon is here right?" she asked in a friendly tone. Elena nodded, "You can meet him- I mean uh." Rose nodded interrupting her,Elena lead her to their booth but her insides were on fire right now, she was mad at herself for feeling this way, how was this woman so beautiful, why was she 'dying' to see her husband.

She got inside the booth, and Rose followed inside, "Hello Mr. Salvatore." she grinned wide. He looked up from a brochure he was reading , "Rose." He got from his seat, "hey." She went ahead and hugged him and Stefan didn't miss the way Elena's jaw dropped, she licked her dry lips, sitting back in her seat, giving them the side eye while she pretended to read the catalogue , she picked from the table. "I just came back from London and I found out you're a married man now."

"Well I am full of surprises." He stepped back from her, "It's not safe to keep tabs on me you know that right?"

"You get my curiosity." She sighed, "I met Elena outside, I must say wise choice. A Mafia king marries mafia princess."

"It's a good match." He grinned wide sitting back on his seat, "Stefan, you remember Rose right?"

Stefan nodded, "Who can forget such a beautiful lady." He got up to greet her, "Can I interest in you in a drink."

She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, "Why not, Damon- I'll call you, I need to talk about something."

Elena gritted her teeth, what was wrong with this shameless woman? She clenched her fists as Stefan and her left, leaving them alone in the booth, she dug her nails into the paper she was holding, "So umm care to explain?"

"Explain what?" he raised a brow looking at her, then down at her nails ruining the paper, "She's your ex girl friend? Why is she being so ' nice' to you. Does she expect something from you knowing you are married?"

He pursed his lips, "She is in the work, I used to get her work when we were together, arrange her stays at five stars, her agency put forward this big movie audition and then she disappeared completely but I guess that didn't work for her."

"So you guys never broke up." Elena blinked, she couldn't believe how she just showed up thinking everything was going to be the same, "So she completely left out the fact that you are married?"

"Things work that way, men in the Mafia have bunch of girls with them while being married, that's the case most of the time." He held the torn catalogue from her hands , "So she thinks this is how it is."

'That's not how it is right?" her heart sank

"Of course not, one annoying woman at a time." He sat back in his chair and balled the catalogue, his eyes on the ground. Elena nodded and sat back in her seat, "Did you just call me annoying?"

"Did I?"

"Damon the-"

"Shh it's starting." He sat up and looked at the lined up horses, "Number 9- what's your again?"

"Seven." She too looked at the ground, with a gun fire all the horses started running towards their destination, she took the binoculars from the table aside and looked into them, "Stefan's horse is killing it, he's up ahead."

"No freaking way."

"Ahuh." She looked into them again, her horse was lagging behind four horses, but slowly it was taking speed, or maybe everything else was slowing down, something was happening, "Oh my God Damon, I passed you, shit ! shit I am almost there."

He pat her shoulder, "Calm down squeaky."

"Yes- number nine is history, freaking history- shit ! I am almost no- number 5 is winning! Damon!" she shouted and got up standing by the grill, "You cant lose now, come on I believed in you!" she nearly fell down the grill looking through her binoculars, "Oh come on you pathetic shit- come on!" Damon held her hips firmly, pulling her back, "Elena sit down."

"Oh damn damn , he's catching speed shit! Yes , yes baby- get it!" she called a loud, the two horses were near the finish line when number five's speed lowered and Elena's horse got ahead, passing the finishing. Her mouth fell open, "Oh my god. Yes." She jumped up her chair throwing the binoculars, 'I freaking won!"

Damon got up his seat to make her sit down, but was surprised as she wrapped her arms around him, 'I won!" jumping up and down in his arms. He patted her back, "yeah honey good job."

She pulled away from him swaying her hips from left to right, "Haha you lost! Your Eleven lost, Stefan lost! His horse cant race for shit! You know who won? Me! I did! " she continued to do her victory dance, he sat back on his seat, laughing at her penguin imitation dance for a while, "You know what Mr. Salvatore , I will cover for your loss today."

"Thank you so much, that saved my life." He said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes, "I know I did." she took her purse and went to the counter followed by the guards, Stefan came back to the booth, "I told her to stay away, gave her a warning to not screw with Elena."

"Good." He up picking up his coat he had took off on arriving. Stefan huffed, "You're seriously such a big dick, you let my number lose, you payed all the riders to slow down didn't you."

"All the riders except number seven. She needed sense of accomplishment." He grinned. Stefan shook his head as he followed him out of the booth, "Someone's trying so hard to get laid."

"She finds out about this, she will literally eat you and me for dinner so shut up." Damon warned, "She is happy and that's what I wanted to do today."

(-HMHMHMHM-)

So that's it guys

Next chap will be with good action, with a lil romance maybe, p.s Kol's entry

Like it hate it? Suggestions?- review space is all yours, let me know.


	4. Bleed me

Hey guys, super stressful week and writing is my escape I actually thought about this chapter A LOT. Love the support recent, every single one of the reviews – I re-read when I am down. Means a lot. Forget me not will soon be posted as soon as I edit the chapters May send me.

Now to the chapter:

Chapter:4

Elena was still waiting at the top of the stairs for him, why was he bidding such an extended good night to Stefan, she would never understand how a good night could stretch to more than fifteen minutes. Elena took off her white stilettos , and grabbed them by the stripes along with her cross body bag.

"It's going to take a while to settle it down, this will blow over in a few weeks but till then Henry has to stay completely underground." Stefan discussed. "It's his fault to begin with, he goes partnering with washed out goons, he shouldn't be expecting security now."

"Everyone else in the clan will go bonkers, they'll think you don't care. "Stefan argued . Damon rolled his eyes, "Well they are right, I don't care about anyone who doesn't care about me, I didn't kill him and he should be grateful for that , that backstabbing bastard, as soon as I set my base in Russia ,send all his loser friends there, let me be clear Stefan ,I don't need politics between my men. I spared him to avoid the uproar from others, he's dead to me."

"Excuse me Mr. Salvatore." Elena's sarcastically sweet voice called for him, he grinned wide, "Just a minute darling." He turned to Stefan, "Tell him to fuck himself ,and he has time till next month, he can go hide wherever the hell he wants because next time I see him, I'll kill him, I don't care who watches or thinks I don't care about my men. The nerve of him- asking for security!" Damon pat Stefan's shoulder, "You're my brother , but don't think that'll change any decision I make , think the way I think Stefan." Stefan simply nodded looking down and Damon turned to go towards the stairs, "Ah it's bed time." He said with a relieved sigh, placing his arm on the small of her back and directing them to their bedroom, Elena chuckled , "You're exhausted for the first time, some evidence of you being human." He opened the door to their room, "I thought you were in a good mood, enough to not poison me with your words." He moved away and took off his coat, pressing his shoulder, "I work all month and I don't get tired, one day with you and look at all this fatigue." He commented pressing his own arms for some tension relief. She looked at him from the mirror installed in her dresser, he did look tired and by the way he was talking, Elena knew he was trying to get her to fight back and get her attention. "I can give you a massage." She said taking off her earrings, She saw his expressions change, his hands moving on his arms stopped, his eyebrows raised in confusion ,he looked back then at her , "Excuse me are you talking to me?"

She rolled her eyes at his antics, "Yes you. Aren't you tired, I have some herbal oil and I can give a good massage okay."

He still couldn't believe she would want to help him, his shocked expression bothered her, she turned around, "What? You don't think I can do it?"

"No It's just." He shook his head , "I feel like you're being nice , that's not your thing with me." his words offended her, she huffed loudly, "You are a complicated man. I have no bad intentions ,I just want to help you." She threw her hands up in surrender , "But if you feel that I might snap your neck-"

He laughed, "You cant snap my neck dearie – you know what? Yes to that massage." He sat on the foot of the bed waiting for her to get whatever she had to, she quickly came back ,she had changed into her PJ's , a pink silk tank top with white shorts , that ended above her knees, she had a red bag with her ,which she set aside ,"Take off your shirt."

He smirked , rubbing his hands together, "Oh now I know why you wanted to give me a massage so badly, you wanna see me naked, all you have to do is ask."

"Hey man I can oil your shirt whatever." She said with hands on her hips, he rolled his eyes, "You're a kill joy, you know that?"

She chuckled as he took off his shirt somewhat pouting and threw it aside, "Now what?"

"Em tell me , what areas you feel are most strained , I guess your shoulders and your back." She got on he knees to be face to face with him. He nodded, "Mostly there."

"Okay now just lie down." She instructed and reached for her bag to take out an oil, while he settled on the bed with his back to her. She poured out some oil in her palm and rubbed it in between her hands , making it warm, "I am going to start, take deep breaths and relax- just think of nice things." She said in a low voice to not disturb him, "Like gardens and greenery and flowers-"

"yeah I get it sweetie."

She shook her head with a sigh and slowly touched his shoulders, her little hands could feel every muscle contract under her skin, she pressed her fingers gently on the upper points making sure her palms were not applying the same pressure and were soft against his skin, she heard him sigh in relief and it brought a smile on her lips , at least she was good at something , she thought. Her hands slowly moved to his back, as she continued her work she just thought about one thing-how tough and built he was, his body was stone hard, a blush crept it's way to her cheeks, she had never felt him so close to herself, this fuzzy feeling in her heart was making her toes curl, "Is it working?" she asked in a whisper.

"Hmm yes , I already feel so much better." He said in a sleepy tone, all his muscles felt like they were unclenching and relaxing now, her small hands felt so good on his skin, the tips of her fingers gave a simultaneous soft and hard pressure which made him feel so good, if he could have it his way she'd be doing this forever. Elena would never admit it to him, but he knew she wasn't as difficult as she thought she was, how can someone with such soft hands be that hard on the inside.

When she got done, she got up from the bed to keep her things back and he frowned sitting up on bed, then he got up following her to the walk in wardrobe.

When she closed the cup board and turned around she gasped, "God you scared me! I thought you fell asleep."

"I did , then you stopped. "he complained.

Elena couldn't help but smile, "Well I am going to bed and you should too, give it a rest." She pursed her lips, avoiding his contoured chest and quickly went back to the bedroom, Damon huffed loudly.

(-HMHMHM-)

A white Audi driving in the rain, six year old girl in the backseat, hugging her teddy bear close to herself as her Three year old brother reached for it, from the middle seat. "No it's mine!" She said in a warn.

"Baby that's not how we talk to our brother." Her mother who was sitting at the other window seat ,looked up from her novel and scolded the little girl.

"But Mom he already has his stupid toy car." She whined, "Hugsy is mine I am not going to share ,he already tore off my barbie's head."

"And then daddy bought you ten in exchange for that. Stop being greedy." Her mom said.

"But Izzi was my favorite doll and he broke her, I am not giving hugsy!" She pouted holding the bear tightly in her embrace.

"You know when you don't share, God gets angry and he takes away every toy for not being kind." The woman ran a hand through her brown locks, "This-"

"We're being followed Ma'am. The driver notified.

She and her mother looked back when all of a sudden multiple cars could be heard, Her mother saw a car deliberately trying to bump into her side and she picked up the six year old girl, hugging her like the little girl was hugging her teddy bear , with a crash the car flew up, The girls eyes widened but her mother pushed the little girl's small face to her chest, preventing her from seeing anything ,all she could hear was glass breaking , all she could smell was petrol ,all she could feel was rolling in a circle ,till it stopped after minutes. She was breathing shallow, when she looked up she saw her mother's face bleeding, struggling for breath, the smell of the petrol more intense now, the mother pushed her out the open window, the little girl cried seeing how injured her mother's face was, glass was cutting through her cheeks, before the little girl knew her mother pushed the crying baby out of the window, "Elena! Go! Run take Jeremy Go!"

"MOM!" she cried

"I am stuck! Elena run ! I'll come back I promise, you're my baby- take your brother and go, I'll be fine I promise!"

"No mommy. " she shook her head , her mother cupped the side of her face breathing sharply, "Just run ,Mommy will be home soon ! save your brother ! Go! "She pushed the girl and Elena dragged the baby boy on the road as much as she could, as fast as she could, they were hardly far from the car when it exploded in the middle of the road, rising high before turning into ashes and burning and she knew her mother wouldn't be coming back, because she heard a scream before those flames took her.

"NOOOO!"

She sat up from her pillow, breathing rapidly ,sweat on her forehead, she felt like she had been running on that road, that smoke was in her lungs and it was so sharp she couldn't breathe ,she touched her heaving chest , feeling that her heart was beating like a drum, her feet shivered. She ran a hand through her hair , "So real – how did this?, I cant ." she continued to chant incoherent words and incomplete statements, hot tears pooled in her eyes and though her chest ached with pain of loss ,her tears were soothing to her.

"Elena?"

She quickly wiped her tears at Damon's voice ,she had almost forgotten she was married! He sat up, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "Nothing I had a bad dream. "doing her best to keep her voice steady.

"Oh." He simply said, "Well go back to bed, it's just a dream."

"Yeah- I'll get some water." She got out of bed and quickly went downstairs, the house was empty of staff, they were probably in their rooms at this hour ,she went to the kitchen and turned on the lights, she wanted to drink water but her chest hurt. Maybe it was still that memory or maybe she was getting a minor heart attack. She felt alone right now, she sat down on the counter stool and let her head fall against the counter, resting it on her arms, again the tears pooled in her eyes, seeing her mother's face tonight. Her words, the way she smiled, the way she'd touch her cheeks, kiss her cheeks, tie her hair in double braids, the way she'd open them and brush them at night, telling her how she was a princess.

A hand caressed her shoulder and she sat up looking back. "I was just-"

"It's okay." Damon said and he stepped ahead taking her in his embrace , she sighed in his arms, as his hands moved up and down her back in a soothing manner, Elena closed her eyes ,feeling at peace of not being completely alone right now. He cupped her face ,parting her from his chest and he could feel how she was reluctant to let him go right now, "You okay?"

She nodded looking down, her voice hardly above a whisper, " I just had a bad dream."

"Hmm you were promising someone you'd share 'hugsy'. " he grinned. The back of his hand stroked her cheek. She bit down on her lip and before he'd know she broke into sobs, he frowned making her look at him ," , I am sorry was that too personal , sorry I didn't want to-" he wiped away her tears , "Stop crying Elena , tell me your issue." He said in a soft voice , "Wait."

He left her there and came back soon with a glass of water, "Here." she looked up at him and held the glass with shaking hands, after a sip or two her throat felt constricted to drink more and his worried eyes on her also didn't feel too comfortable , she put the glass on the counter and got off the stool, "Let's go back."

He huffed and held her wrist pulling her back in front of him, "Be less stubborn every once in a while."

"I am okay- really." She tried to reassure him, he shook his head, "You're telling me or do you want me to call your dad."

She bit her lip, "Fine , I'll tell you."

"Good. Let's go get some fresh air okay?" he said softly as he let his arm around her leading her to the garden at the back of the kitchen, as soon as the cold fresh air touched her she felt herself more relaxed and at ease, even the garden being dark, she wasn't in the least bit paranoid , the fragrance of the wet mud and grass was refreshing.

They sat on the swing, and he let her go, holding her hand tightly in between both his hands resting above his thigh , waiting for her.

"I saw my Mom again." She looked down at their linked hands , "The same day, the day she died ,I saw that."

"Oh." his thumb stroked her palms slowly. She sucked up the tears that were poking at her eyes to come out, "I wouldn't share my teddy bear with Jeremy and she was telling me – how bad it was , I should be less selfish, we were in a car , coming back from my Nona's place , when? Where? Michaelsons followed us , they attacked and got rid of all other security behind us and attacked us. I couldn't see anything."

She looked at him, her body had started shaking, "The car got out of control and we got into an accident , it was so sudden, the car just rolled and rolled Damon. So much glass and blood – and then everything was quiet."

Tears started rolling down her cheeks, she looked away, "She pushed us out of the window, and she promised me she'd be okay- that I need to save Jeremy, I just, ran I shouldn't have, because it all went up in flames , she was …. Dead." Her lower lip quivered and she couldn't control the low sobs that followed, he sighed pulling her into his arms , resting her head against his chest, "It's going to be fine sweetie."

She nodded rubbing her wet face against his chest, "I am sorry , you didn't need to-"

"Hey, it's okay Elena." He cupped her face , making her look up at him ,"You don't need to be sorry for anything. I know I don't understand what you went through, but I care that you're hurt."

She pursed her lips, "I just miss her, I lost her so soon, I would never want that to be my last memory with her , when she was mad at me."

"She wasn't mad at you." He chuckled , "You understand that right? Kids are little brats ,that's how you set them straight." He wiped the tears away from her cheeks, "If she didn't love you , she wouldn't guard you from pain."

"I wish she'd say that she loved me , a last time." She whispered resting her head back on his chest. He stroked her hair sitting back , "But you know she does , don't you?"

"Mmhmm." She nodded , then looked up at him , "Where are your parents? They don't live here?"

"I was brought up by my uncle , I don't know about my parents." He sighed , "Maybe they're dead , maybe gone , I don't know."

She frowned, "What do you mean? Didn't your uncle tell you?" Elena could see how he was getting tensed slightly, she didn't want him to feel upset but shouldn't she know too, he chuckled hiding his inner anxiousness over the question , "Maybe he did tell me , Zach died when I was Eleven, I don't remember , for mostly it's been me and Stefan, I know my parent's names , that's all I know."

"Oh."

"See that's the reason I told you I can't understand your loss, because I've never felt it." He cupped the side of her face, "Most of the people think me and Stefan just started a decade ago , we've been on roads all our lives , from Italy to here – big struggle, now I just want to stop for a while."

She suddenly felt so sorry for him, because she could read a vulnerability in his eyes , he wanted a family even when he didn't act like it , he needed love , even when he didn't ask for it. His sudden calm attitude was a clean act that she could see through. She rested her head against his chest , and closed her eyes , Elena could easily feel how his heart beat picked up pace from the gesture, and his hand had suddenly stopped patting her hair, but then he continued. "You sleepy? Want to go back to bed?"

"Yeah in a while, I like it here." she murmured.

(-HMHMHM-)

The sound of the water running woke her up, she sat up in bed, how did she get here? then the whole night replayed in her head slowly, did he bring her back to bed? Because she remembered falling asleep outside, she got up from the bed and stood outside the bathroom , "Damon you're still home?" she slightly pushed the open door, her husband was standing infront of the large mirror in a towel a view that would forever be too much for her ,shaving. She peeked in and he looked back , "I don't remember keeping a hologram , still home."

She rolled her eyes getting inside , "When will your awful humor die?"

"It's a competition , your stubbornness vs my bad humor." He chuckled running the razor on his jaw line , "Is that what you wanted to ask?" he looked at her from the mirror , she took a step ahead , "No actually I wanted to thank you , for last night."

He shrugged, "For what?."

"For listening." She sat on the counter , looking at him , "I was upset and you helped me."

He grinned, "Well I wouldn't be able to if I didn't feel so good from that little massage."

She looked down hiding her blush , "Is this your way of saying thank you?"

"I think we're even." He cleaned his face and patted it dry with a towel , "So there's something we need to talk about." He cleared his throat.

She looked up, "What?"

"You told me something about college, you dropped out soon because of the Michaelson thing, well I asked Stefan to see if we would be able to get you registered private, now it was tough but we managed to get a seat for BFA for now, means that you can study at home and get to-"

She interrupted, "But I can't study from home Damon, I know nothing – there are 120 units I can't just do them by myself."

"I know , I know and that is why we're getting a bunch of tutors." He said calmly and stood in front of her, her knees touching his body as kept his hands on either sides of her, "Do you want to?"

"Of course I want to, I have nothing to do at home all day, but our reputation Damon, who in the right mind would want to come here, no offense but we are all associated with crime."

He rolled his eyes, "That's not your problem, that's mine, your problem is knowing if you want to do this."

She nodded, "Yes I want to." She smiled, "Thanks. This is so cool." She leant forward letting her arms go around his neck , she pressed a kiss against his cold cheek, "Thank you." She parted enough to look at him, her arms were still around his neck, it was too close, he slowly cupped her face ,his thumb stroking her cheeks, his eyes focused on her lips, he could feel how warm and rosy her cheeks were getting by the moment, he was just about to touch her lips with his when a knock at the door disturbed them , he groaned , "Whoever this is , is going to die."

Elena hopped off the counter and went back to the bedroom followed by him, she opened the door to their bedroom and saw a woman , her hair tied up in a bun ,wearing a grey pencil skirt with a white tucked in shirt , dark smooth skin, "Mrs. Salvatore Good morning! Mr.Stefan Salvatore directed me here."

Elena stood closed the door slightly , peeking out , "Umm If you're here to see Damon , he's not dressed yet so, can you please wait downstairs."

"Okay." She said after swallowing thick.

"What's your name again?"

"Bonnie Bennet – actually i-"

Elena interrupted her , "Okay Bonnie Bennet , I'll make sure he knows and it's quite rude to knock on a bedroom door , no matter how 'causal' your relationship with my husband might be."

"But-"

She shut the door on her face ,turning around and almost groaned inside , Damon was in the walk in wardrobe , when she burst in there , "Seriously Damon what the hell."

He turned around , "What?"

"There is a woman outside who wants to see you , you know just because you gave me a choice on our wedding night doesn't mean I am going to deal with your whores, not at all! I would not allow these girls to walk over me and talk to you like I don't exist because I do. You want to live a life like you're not married , then I damn sure will throw some divorce papers on your face right before it." She spat. He just watched her with a brow raised , "You're kidding me, Rose was outside?"

She cringed at the name, "No but some other butterfly of yours , what was her name? yes Bonnie Bennet. "

He frowned , "Elena that's not my ex girlfriend."

"Oh hell no! so she's not an ex , she's a current , I don't care tell her to leave." She pointed to the door. Damon palmed his face , "That's the girl we hired for you, your assistance , Stefan said you don't have friends here so I thought maybe you'll like someone to talk to you, help you around." He explained in a calm voice , "Jeez why are you so mad over Rose still?"

"Because she acted like I don't matter Damon." She stated clearly, "And no girl is going to make me feel like a helpless wife , that's the last thing that's going to happen."

"I know ,come on , I don't care about her." he held her shoulders pressing them, she moved away from him , "I don't care if you don't care about her , just get this straight , you wanna have an affair, go ahead but if I find out about it , the way you insulted my presence Damon ,I don't care what my Dad says, I will go back home and I'll make sure you regret it." She warned storming out of the room. Damon stood their clueless in the room, what did he say that got her this angry with him?

(-HMHMHM-)

"We've got three places fully set up and running , they even showed me the money we made last week from all those casinos." Stefan showed them as soon as he got done from his meeting , "Congratulations you bastard, I've already sent men to get the set up faster, do you think we should go yet."

"I don't know , some small Dons are protesting Gilbert's decision saying they wont do as say, it's an ego problem , Even though Grayson advised them in person but they refuse to give up ,they went as far as saying they'll kill us." Stefan huffed , they both stood outside by his car, Damon leaned against it, "Why? Didn't they took orders from Grayson."

"Yeah but now they wont just give up , saying you took the place by force , they think he's the victim ,I think Grayson is playing us , he isnt a sweetheart that they aren't letting him go , maybe be fueled them so he can slowly creep his way back into rule." He said pinching the bridge of his nose. "You sure?"

"Of course , he's acting like you wanted to marry his daughter since the start, we went with a deal, he wants our protection but he's being a greedy bastard at the same time." Stefan explained. Damon shook his head, "Well if that's the case the motherfucker will pay. I did my end of the deal."

"Gladly I must add." Stefan said sarcastically. Damon rolled his eyes, "Well guess who takes after Daddy , Elena is hot and cold all the time- one moment she is as sweet as chocolates the next , she's ready to shove a stick up my ass."

"Ouch, what happened."

"Rose happened, she says she finds out about one other girl and she'll divorce me- no in her words ,she'll make me regret it."

"What?"

"Yeah I know it turned me on too but that's not the point here, I am just thinking of ways to hide my countless ex girlfriends ." he raised his brows, "The wife's mad! Her family , cuckoo." He touched his head, "I hear the word Gilbert one more time , I'll choke on glass."

"I told you so." Stefan said in a sing- song voice , "But your sex addiction got the best of you."

"Oh please I feel like a monk okay –I've been married for a month now and-"

Stefan laughed and moved away , "And to add salt to your wounds I did have a lot of fun on your wedding night , let me recall my memory even our one of site mangers invited to the wedding, hooked up with one of the guests there-"

"Haha everyone's getting laid with the Gilberts but me" Damon said with his poker's face , Stefan faked a pout , "A more willing option is Jeremy ,hey he's a gilbert, that's one thing checked off your list."

Damon opened his car door, "Screw you Stefan."

(-HMHMHM-)

'We need to talk.' He typed the text to Grayson and went inside his room, "Elena." He called her name loudly , she appeared from the wardrobe , "Damon you're back."

"Yes I actually-" he was interrupted when he saw Bonnie come out of the wardrobe wearing a yellow halter dress , he was pretty sure Elena owned, her hair were in a half updo and her face confused and nervous. "It's only seven ,you usually come home so late." His wife said

"Yeah I thought I would em-" he looked away from Bonnie to her, "What's going on?"

"I was giving Bonnie a style swap." She said proudly some what, "How does she look?"

"Is that a trick question?" he asked a brow raised , "Elena, Bonnie is not your doll ,she's here to assist you."

Elena huffed loudly," Well I don't require assistance right now. " she turned to Bonnie , "Bonnie when will the spa staff show up?"

"In an hour maybe." She said in a shy voice .

"No cancel your appointments , we're going out for dinner in half an hour." He told her taking off his tie , he sat on the bed and let out a sigh, she smiled, "You're taking me out?"

"Ahuh guess what, your Dad and Jeremy will be there too." He took off his shoes , "So get ready."

"Oh so it's a business thing." She was slightly disappointed and looked at Bonnie, "I'll see you tomorrow I guess."

"Good bye Elena." Bonnie picked up her bag and gave her a smile heading out, when she closed the door after her , Elena palmed her face, "I was so embarrassed in the morning , Bonnie is a nice girl ,she just got nervous a lot in the morning and came upstairs."

"Hmm." He lied back and closed his eyes for a moment, she walked to the bed and sat by his side, "Sorry I shouted at you in the morning."

He let out a breath , "It's okay. Go get ready." He patted her face. She touched his arm, "I really am sorry, I thought about it when you were gone."

"You thought about me." he opened his eyes, a smirk on his lips now, "Is that your way of saying you missed me right after you threatened to destroy me."

She got up from the bed and instantly he held her wrist pulling her down on him, she fell on top of him , her breath hitched seeing his blue eyes boring into her, the back of his hand caressing her face, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her jawline, she bit her lip, "We're late."

"We can be later." He suggested with wriggling his brows. She giggled getting up , "I am gonna get ready." Her whole body was heating up and trembling with some sort of need, her mind replaying him kissing her jaw bone. She practically ran to the bathroom and locked herself inside, did she like it? Because her stomach was doing somersaults for some odd reasons, okay maybe she was attracted to him.

She quickly took a shower and dried her hair all the while her mind making different scenarios of them , she shook her head , cringing to it- but she couldn't help it , it felt good.

Her hair were straight with some volume , she clipped the front back and let a strand or two out on the sides to frame her face, she wore a red body con dress that ended above her knees with a little slit on one side , after applying a little makeup she got out and reached for her black pumps, "Ready."

He was fixing his hair in the mirror as she came out of the wardrobe and his jaw dropped looking at her, was she torturing him by looking so beautiful, surely she knew how much he loved this color on her,or maybe she didn't- but the color was made for her. She looked down, smiling , "What do you think?"

What does he think? He doesn't want to go that's what he thinks, he wants to pick her up throw her on the bed and never leave this room again, "Ravishing." He stepped closer to her, "I want to ravish you." He winked , she rolled her eyes , "What's got into you today."

He offered his arm to her, she crossed her arm with his , "Let's go."

(-HMHMHM-)

Elena was looking out the window, "the weather is so good right?"

"Yes." He ran a hand through his hair, "Gray was avoiding me."

"Yeah that was weird. I don't know why he was so off." She sat back and turned her head to look at him, "Jeremy says that he's heard Klaus Michaelson has sent him threats after our marriage, something about a Florida base being taken."

"Yes we were sharing that before you and I got married, 60-40 percentage and now we just took it, one of our men Henry, let his men into my base, which caused a massacre, we didn't expose Henry yet he's still under our observation, I want to get into the root." He clenched the steering wheel. She touched his thigh, "Is it because you married me?"

He looked at her , "Elena these people are backstabbers , they were hidden and now they are right in front of me. Don't blame yourself for anything."

She nodded. He held her hand which rested on his thigh and squeezed it as a reassurance. He smiled at her , "It's been a month to our wedding."

"Really?" she asked , although she remembered since morning but she avoided to tell him, it'll look weird.

"Where are we going?" she asked looking outside the window , feeling they weren't going home. "Almost there." She shook her head sitting back in her seat and enjoying the drive ,it was nice to be out without security- that was all why she thought marrying him was not such a bad deal, because before this she would have crowds of security to go anywhere , Damon claimed he was a one man army and security wasn't required if he was around.

Soon the car was off the road , down a grassy path and she sat forward to look around , "Emm what is this place?"

"Relax." He pressed her hand and stopped the car at a point. "Come on." He instructed and got out of the car, she did too. He opened the trunk , he took out a big basket and a mat, "Midnight picnic."

"What" she giggled, he let the lights of the car on ,holding the stuff in one hand and held her hand in the other , "Come on."

She stopped ,"Wait- wait." She bent down and took off her pumps her hand clutching his tightly all the while , she kept the pumps aside the car, "okay ready." He rolled his eyes and picked her up , she squealed , "Damon, put me down!"

"Lena I don't want you stepping into something sharp, calm down." He easily carried her down a little path , Elena spotted water at the base of the path, the moon shone in the water, the beautiful lake surrounded by thick trees, some light from the car illuminating the area around. "Woah."

"You like it princess?" He asked setting her down on the grass, he spread the mat and kept the basket on it , he sat by her side and breathed in , "I thought you could use a little time out of the house."

"This place is so beautiful." She was still mesmerized , "Look how beautiful the moon looks."

"Hmm." He let his arm around her waist and pulled her close to himself, she blushed sitting against his chest, "You're not as bad as I thought." She confessed. "Pretty romantic." She added with a giggle. He stroked her arm, his head resting on her shoulder, "See not that bad Mrs. Salvatore."

"After you turned down that Tahiti trip , I just felt like you don't want to interact with me, I felt like a deal. "she turned her head side ways to look at him. He looked into her eyes, he could perfectly see her shining orbs , beautiful eyes that he couldn't get enough of, "Elena I do want you to go and travel but ever since we got married , people are keeping tabs, a honeymoon is the most certain thing- it's obvious , we could be in danger, I want to wait until everything blows over a little and then I will take you – to places you've never seen."

She chuckled , "Really?"

"Ahuh. I wouldn't lie to you, I am excited about my life with you, you know and I want to make it perfect. You and I and my dumb brother- I want us to live happy as long as we can." He said sincerely, "You can never be a deal to me, you're my wife Elena , you're a Salvatore now, we're like a family."

She nodded , unclenching the muscles of her body , she wanted to relax, he opened the basket and took out a bottle of champagne, "It's our one month together."

"That's hell sappy." She rolled her eyes as he made her hold the bottle with him , they opened it together and he pulled out the Champagne glasses from the basket , pouring the drink in both the glasses , he handed her a glass, "Cheers. Elena."

She laughed. He pulled her back against him and they sipped from their drink watching the lake, she sighed, "We're a family huh, that sounds weird."

"Hmm why" he asked her.

"A family is like – babies and stuff like that." She grinned looking back at him, she playfully smacked his arm around her waist, "owh don't tickle me."

"It's not weird, someday we might have kids who knows. "he shrugged. "A little Eugenio and a little Genoveva."

She looked back at him jaw dropped, "What? What kind of germs are that?"

"Germs? That's going to be our babies, Eugenio and Genoveva. Of course if you want more children Herberto and Lorenza are good options."

"Yes if I hate my babies that's when." She got away from him , "You're kidding right? I am not going to ever and ever have your children if you're naming them."

"What does that mean? Those names are great they hold great heritage value to me , you tell me I cant name my daughter after my Grandmother?" he sounded upset.

"Well your grandmother shouldn't be named Eugenio in the first place." She spat back.

"My grandmother was Genoveva , Eugenio will be our son." He explained.

"No way , stay away from me you pizza maker I am not letting you name my kids." She dragged herself on the mat. "Pizza maker? Did you just call me a pizza maker?" he inched closer.

"Yes- and Ahhh." She screamed as he attacked her and she was suddenly against the ground with him on top of her, straddling her and kept her hands pinned above her head with his one hand, "Take that back."

"You wont name our kids." She demanded.

"Okay here goes nothing." He started tickling her, she let out a laugh, surrendering between giggles, 'Okay okay I am sorry."

"No you're not!." He said still tickling her , her echoing giggles made him happy too ,he loved making her happy. "Damon I am sorry I wont call you a pizza maker Damn it." she laughed , he stopped letting her breath , her chest was heaving as she struggled to capture her breath and her hands still pinned , she was still smiling wide with closed eyes, "Sorry for being racist , you're not naming my children."

"So can I name the dog?"

"Maybe- at least you wont name it after your grandmother." She started laughing. He too laughed getting off her and lied by her side on the ground laughing, "I was messing with you."

"Really?" she turned her face to him.

"Yeah."

Their faces were close to each other and the laughs paused , he stroked the side of her face ,brightly shining from the moonlight, she closed her eyes moving closer to him, slowly he pressed lips to her, she moaned from how gentle they felt on her , as he took his time , he took her bottom lip between his lips sucking on it for a moment before he pecked her and parted to see her face, she opened her eyes , "wow." She whispered. She cupped his face leaning forward and kissed him back, at first he was stiff but in a moment he realized what happened and reacted, pulling her on top of him, he cupped her face, kissing her back, rolling his tongue on her lower lip, she hesitated before opening her small mouth for him and he instantly entered his tongue in her mouth caressing her warm tongue, sucking on it occasionally , he could feel how she was reacting by moving her hips against his , like a cat in heat. He parted from her mouth kissing below her lips down her chin to her neck, she threw her head back and her eyes closed, she let out a soundless moan, "Oh Damon." She sighed. He peppered her neck with kisses ,his hand moved upto unclip her hair , "Have I told you how offending this was." He threw the clip , leaning in her neck , his tongue licked the area below her ear and she let out a moan, her body shook with need. He pulled the thin red straps down from her shoulders as he kissed and nibbled her skin , "You're so god damn beautiful." He whispered in her ear, "Let's go home, I want to take you in my bed the first time."

"Damon. She moaned , "I want you right now."

He kissed her warm lips again and this time she tried to move her tongue with his , her hands traced down his shoulders to unbutton his shirt, when he pulled back looking at her, "Elena."

Her eyes were glimmering as she looked at him ,a red light, he sat up and adjusted the straps on her dress, "Go sit in the car."

"What? Damon i-"

"Sit in the car, no arguments." He said in a whisper and got her to stand up. She looked back and saw him break the Champagne bottle heading away, she frowned as she saw him going towards the trees. "Damon." She called but he didn't answer. She stayed by the car and in a second she heard a shot ,she quickly ran in the direction and her heart was sinking , was he hurt, once she got in the woods, she saw him standing near two men who were lying on the ground , one with half the champagne bottle thrusted in his chest , the other dead from the fire of the gun, while Damon standing there with a flash from his phone reading a paper, a gun discarded at his feet. She touched her beating chest, "Damon."

He looked up, "Kol Michaelson."


	5. Backfire

A/N: Hey guys so I posted a chapter of "forget me not" and I didn't get any enthusiasm from readers who were bashing May for it lol , I don't care about it though I had super busy exams still going till Friday – I am addicted to writing and new ideas keep popping in my head , The "Bonnie and Clyde" DE story is coming right after I finish "FORGET ME NOT" btw but deep down I really wish my life would hit me with exciting events (obvi good ones) so I can get hold of my addiction of writing Fanfiction and reading. Thank you for the reviews, and Jennagilbert7 asked me for my socials, believe it or not, I shut my socials long ago but if you want a specific Delena twitter for story updates and shit just tell me and its done, would love to share that

Now to the story:

Chapter 5

Elena was standing in the same steady position, her body stiff and her hand still placed over her chest to steady her heartbeat , for a second there she had thought that Damon was shot but coming here, she sees two men, two dead men- and the man she called her husband reading a piece of paper with God knows what information. When she let out a breath and looked at the fallen men in the feeble light of Damon's phone's flash. The blood that was pooling around the bodies made her sick, in fact her husband was standing in that circle of blood around one man's body, bile rose to her throat, her breathing became erratic, so much blood. Damon shifted his attention from the paper to her, "What's wrong?" he asked narrowing his icy blue eyes, his aura so dangerous and sick and yet calm. Elena felt her body hit with cold sweat, "Damon." She said his name like holding on to consciousness. Her body felt limp and she knew she was falling to the ground, immediately he moved forward and held her in his arms before she fell on the ground. Damon saw her eyes roll back before they closed and her body limp in his arms, he patted her cheek, "Elena, hey!"

She didn't respond, did she seriously pass out?

He picked her up and moved out of the thick trees never sparing the dead bodies a second look, he was more worried about her at the moment, of course! He suddenly realized, she watched her husband murder two men , she must be paranoid, he thought. But then a thought struck in , Maybe she never saw a murder before? How can he be so stupid? But what was the choice at the moment- if he didn't kill them, they would have taken her, like the check points highlighted by the note, a small plan they had mapped out. If he hadn't looked in her glimmering eyes earlier, he wouldn't have spotted that red dot – indication of a gun with that red beam- laser. He had moved her out of the way and moved out of the way, because he knew Kol wouldn't kill Elena, he wanted to kill him and take her, well it wasn't that easy.

He put her in the car seat and adjusted the seatbelt around her, when he was sure she was good in a position, he leaned away to look at her, her head was falling to her side, strands of her hair falling over her cheek, he sighed as he tucked them away , stroking the soft skin of her cheek, if he hadn't been careful she would be in danger in this moment, did it really affect him? Why did it? The question began to gnaw at his mind. It itched and irritated him as he got back in his seat and drove mindlessly to home, when he parked the car in and turned to look at her, the feeling grew tenfold, and he felt guilty because he shouldn't be feeling this way, they should just remain like a typical couple- where everything is going to be an obligation. Because he knew, he didn't want to be in the situation he had seen multiple times, where you have a weakness and every other person is going to use it against you, he already had one and it was Stefan, he would give up everything to save Stefan if it came down to that, but Stefan was strong enough to watch his back, Elena- wasn't. He couldn't add more inconvenience that came along with feeling for her.

He picked her up and walked towards the front doors, the guards were surprised at the sight of him carrying his unconscious wife, but of course they weren't in enough authority to ask questions, when he went inside and the door shut after him, he heard footsteps and though he knew who it would be, "Stefan." Damon said looking at his brother who was standing surprised as well, he was probably here to say something because he wasn't the one greeting at the door type. However he shook his head and ignored Elena speaking to him, "Damon I got some bad news, Kol Michaelson's men were trailing four of our cars and-"

Damon interrupted, "This is an aftermath." He gestured to Elena. "What?" Stefan asked worried, "Is she okay? What happened?"

"They followed us , and they were going to attack but I handled the situation. Elena however is a _fifone._ Stefan pursed his lips, "Did you talk to Grayson?"

"Nope, I will soon. Now will you mind." He said in a snappy tone, Stefan moved out of the way and Damon took the stairs up the first floor to his room, he opened the door and got inside, walked to the bed and let out an exhausted sigh, placing her on the bed. He shifted the covers over her and turned around to leave the bedroom. He needed to be away for a few minutes, he just went to the house-office and turned on the lights there. He unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and sat back in the seat back from the table, he decided he wanted to get married and he got married, he always took decisions on impulse and it had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to know her the day he saw her- no correction, he wanted to have her the day he saw her, just like he saw that Camaro and had wanted that and this house when he first came to this country, but there was no love – that was possession, not care, and if anyone would take away those things-yes he would be pissed, but would he be hurt? Because he felt like he would be hurt if someone took the girl away- and that he couldn't understand, if he just now told Stefan about this irritation he had, he would probably laugh in his face and say that of course he is suppose to feel for her, it's his damn wife, it's about time.

But then he wouldn't understand ,Damon wasn't that man, his rule in life was to not care- that's what got him this far. He reached for the glass bourbon bottle and poured it into a glass.

He didn't want to worry about Elena, or the fact that she would be in danger or even the fact that she could end up dead. What if?- so what? he shrugged, Elena wasn't the first girl he found attractive, she definitely wasn't the first "special" in his life. So what if she is his first wife, Partners come and go, he told himself. If their marriage stood the test of time then it's okay but if something happened- he shouldn't let that worry him, gnaw at his head.

Right now he should be angry over two things.

Kol Michaelson's audacity to challenge him and Grayson Gilbert's backstabbing. He wouldn't have any of that.

He put his glass back on the table and reached for his phone , dialing a number, "Hello Klaus, I need to speak with you."

"If you're referring to your survival from by brother's trap earlier-" the smooth voice said. Damon interrupted, "You might have seen what the result is and honestly I really don't mind rolling a few heads every now and then, but let me tell you how stupid it is for you to think, you can kill me with two very newbie contract killers." He said just picturing how easy he sneaked up on them and killed them.

"That's just a small demonstration of us ending ties with you Damon, I honestly don't give two fucks what my brother does with Grayson's daughter, that's his business , not mine- but if you think killing my men and taking over our area is easy with your little Gilbert collaboration, I will prove you wrong." He said in a grave voice, "No one fucks with my business Damon."

"There there little girl." Damon taunted, "Why don't you man up and do something about it Klaus, I remember when Stefan and I were under _Padrino Vito, _you had this huge empire and so much pride. You didn't want to join hands with us because you thought I'd never make it out of that fucking country but guess what? I did, you begged for a deal and I gave it to you, but now, you are no use to me, the forty percent that you bring in is nothing for the base I have in Russia, you occupied my bases and I let you, you had those brothels set up, drugs coming in, organs going out- but you know even after using every trick in the book- you couldn't make much, you couldn't expand and that's why you are a national loser- an American mafioso disgrace." He spat.

"Damon I'll destroy you."

"I'd love to see you try and while you're at it, save up for a little funeral party because your brother is fucking dead after what he did." He said and shut the phone. He was angry right now- Good he liked It, he liked being angry. He needs this anger to destroy Klaus and his entire family.

He shut the office door and went towards the stairs, even when his mind told him not to, he gave a quick look to his room as he passed but he stopped as he saw her shifting uncomfortably in bed, he stood there seeing if it went on and when it did, he went inside the room, given the events from the night, Elena must not be mentally stable.

He walked over to the bed side, her hands were clutching the comforter tightly and she was slowly kicking her feet, when he touched the top of her head, her eyes snapped open, she looked at him for a good minute as her breathing struggled to get normal, her small body was slightly trembling, all her reactions showing how different Elena was from him, he didn't flinch after such events and here she was. She sat up swallowing thick, "Damon." She whispered. Her hands suddenly held his arm, not too harshly, "Please sit with me." she requested with almost watery eyes, when he complied to her wish, she wrapped her arms around him , resting her head on his shoulder, "I-had a very- very bad dream."

"Hmm." He stroked the back of her head, she parted to see his face, then rested her head against his chest as if searching for warmth, "Just don't go anywhere." She said in a low voice, "I am scared."

"Elena it's okay, they are dead."

Elena flinched at his words but didn't move away entirely, "I know- but , but they were back in my dream and they-" she looked up at him, "Killed you." Her body trembled with saying the words as if she pictured it and she once again pressed her head to his chest, her hands clutching his shirt, "Please just stay at home."

"Oh Elena." he said in a chuckle, "They cant hurt me, no one can." He cupped her face, parting it from his chest to look at her, "You don't have to worry about me."

She bit her lower lip, her breathing getting evened as he stroked her cheeks in a relaxing manner, "Damon I heard that shot and you were unarmed, you scared the hell out of me, I thought you were-"

"Dead." He interrupted her with a roll of his eyes, "Elena I was unarmed but my mind was still working, I went up behind them, before they'd know, it was over. If it's me that you're worried about, it's useless because I can defend myself in any situation."

"You shouldn't be this careless- you're acting like you didn't almost died." She got up the bed and looked down at her wrinkled red dress, "I know you think I hate you or something- but I don't hate you okay- it would upset me to see you hurt." She brushed the wrinkles away from her dress, he got up and turned her around to face him, "You care about me?" he asked raising a brow. She swallowed thick moving away from his hold, "Of course I care about you, at least enough to not see you dead Damon. You think I am some horrible human being? I married you last month- you are my husband, you respect me , take care of me, talk to me, of course I care about you." She stepped forward holding both his hands in hers, "I trust you with my safety, I trust whatever you say to me, even though the idea of trusting a Don is ridiculous, I feel like I have an understanding with you."

Understanding? That sounded about right, he thought- maybe he felt what she felt, an understanding with her, she cared if he was dead or not, that's an understanding. He had an understanding with Elena. He told himself.

He pulled her forward to an embrace and she sighed pressed against him, he stroked her silky hair, she was happy that he lived, all though that was obvious- no one can harm him, he thought with a smug smile.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

"It was crazy Bon- I don't know how Damon knew, but he just did- he said he saw the red beam and he knew it was from a gun."

"God Mrs. Salvatore, that's one hell of a party last night." Bonnie said as she was setting the marked makeup in her vanity with her, Elena groaned, "God don't call me that, please call me Elena- I told you we are friends, I don't want you to call me Mrs. Salvatore, it sounds like a woman married to some fat old man smoking cigars eww."

"That's going to be your husband in fifteen years Elena." Bonnie stressed on her name. Elena blushed and looked at her, "One if we make it to fifteen years and two if gets out of shape and gets addicted to cigars, he would have to sign on some divorce papers first- I just don't like the taste of smoke."

"Especially now that you'll have your tongue down his throat all the time." Bonnie teased her, Elena gasped throwing a cushion her way, "Now I regret telling you all that."

"Oh come on Elena! don't be shy now, we're all friends here." She laughed at Elena's red face.

"Bon but seriously, last night I just slipped, I don't think I am ready yet." She shifted from foot to foot nervously, "What if he thinks we're good, like good – good, shit Bon, what will I do?"

"Elena just tell him like you did , easy." She shrugged, "Besides I don't think that'll be a problem, Mr. Salvatore is going to Moscow for like a month or so."

"What? how did you know?" she asked Bonnie in surprise feeling a sudden feeling of loss of content and peace. Was he taking her along with or was he going alone? He didn't care to tell her and Bonnie knows.

"Yeah Trevor told me."

"Oh." She felt at a loss of words, "Well good for him I guess."

"So wont you go and confront him about this?' she asked feeling Elena was not happy over him not telling her. Suddenly she got on her defense mode, if Damon was being 'The man' she could be that wife, she shrugged, "Why would I care?"

Her phone buzzed on the table and she raised her brows picking it up, "Caroline."

"Hey." She said picking up the phone, "What's up?"

"Elena I have to tell you something."

"Hmm." Elena said compiling a few boxes Bonnie left.

"I am pregnant." She choked out.

"What?" her phone fell from her hand and she had to pick it up, "What? Caroline! Shit."

"Elena calm down!" she squealed, "I don't need another freaked out person Elena, because I am fucking freaked out!"

"Who knocked you up?" Elena almost screamed into the phone and she knew the answer but she wished she didn't heard it, "Stefan that's who! You really think of me as the biggest whore, don't you!"

"You stupid stupid girl. Did you tell Stefan?" she asked her in an angry tone.

"No, I don't have his number, I didn't see him after you told me not too, figured you might be right, he wanted to give me his number but-"

"Okay okay, look you need to come here, can you? Are you okay?" she asked with motherly affection.

"Yes I am fine- but I don't think coming there is a good idea."

"Yes Care and for the daughter of a Judge to get knocked up by a criminal was a good idea, if your dad finds out he'll breathe down your neck till you make a decision."

"But my Dad works with your Dad. Doesn't that make him-"

She snapped, "No Care, he maybe associated but that doesn't mean he approves, I know your father, just get on a plane, and I'll get Stefan ready for the 'talk'."

"Just don't pressure him Elena." she pleaded, "I don't want to force myself onto him." Her voice broke and she started crying in a low voice, Elena groaned, "God Caroline, why are you being so sensitive sweetie- we are going to fix this just don't panic."

"Hmm." Her voice sounded as if she was sucking up her tears, "I am just a little scared."

"You don't need to be, I am sure we'll find out a way and help you think clear."

"Elena I don't want to lose the baby." She cried again, "I've known for a week, I've thought enough, I want my baby."

"Honey relax, please stop crying, if you don't want to lose it, no one is going to make you." She assured her.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

Damon came home at about nine , surprised to find the room empty, he waited a good twenty minutes before checking the bathroom, then going downstairs, "Sage." He called one of the servants, the red heard showed up from the kitchen, "Yes Mr. Salvatore."

"Where is Mrs. Salvatore?"

"She's on the third floor with Miss Bennet." She said with a smile. Damon gave out a tired sigh, this Bonnie-Elena friendship was definitely taking the two to three hours he had with his wife every day, not that it was entirely bad, he couldn't let her outside too much. She was occupied at home. He went upstairs to the third floor, "Elena." he called for her.

"In here." She answered from the room at the end, Damon wondered what she was doing now? making a ramp for Bonnie to walk on and try all Elena's clothes? Or something because he could hear the voice of some work going on. When he walked in the room it was carpeted with papers, Elena and Bonnie were painting the wall, purple- his wife dressed in a denim overall with a pink crop top underneath, hair In a loose bun ,Bonnie wearing the same attire but with a yellow top underneath.

"What is going on?"

"We're making a nursery." She turned to look at him, "We just got the news and Bonnie and I were having so much impatience over it so we decided we could, you know paint a room for the nursery."

He looked even more puzzled than before, "I think you've lost it."

"What?"

He shook his head stepping inside, dodging all the paint drops, "Elena, honey look at me. " he turned her towards him, and cupped her face, the sides of cheeks and her forehead tinted with paint, he pulled back his hand that stained from it, "Ehm hmm-" then turned his attention towards her, " Nothing like that-" he looked at Bonnie, Then her, "Last night – but we." He was out of words, "Even if- huh-I think it's a false alarm."

"No it isn't , it's confirmed." She was about to turn back to paint but he held her in place, "Well then you might have some questions to answer."

"About what?"

"About how this happened?" he looked down at her flat belly, she gasped pushing him away, "You would know if you read my text Damon."

"What is that have to do with-"

"I am not pregnant." She said blushing , "I told you to talk to Stefan in my text."

"I didn't read the texts yet , what are you talking about?" he asked confused.

The heard a car honk in the parking, and they both knew it was Stefan's , Elena huffed, "Your brother knocked my friend up." She said cringing.

"What? Bonnie?" he looked at the dark skinned girl who suddenly blushed. Elena cupped his face turning it to her, "No you Idiot I am talking about Caroline."

His jaw dropped, she called him an idiot and Stefan knocked up Judge Bill's daughter? Before he could say anything she walked out of the room, probably to talk to Stefan and he and Bonnie followed her out, She quickly went downstairs and Stefan was just on the stairs going up to is room when they both saw eachother, he looked at her attire and bit back his laugh, "Oh hey Elena."

"Hey yourself Stefan, I assume you didn't read my texts either." She stopped three stairs above him and he frowned, taking out his phone reading the messages

_You have all this money and you couldn't afford a bloody condom? Seriously? Well guess what Caroline is pregnant and you filthy-" _he looked up , "Wait what Caroline is pregnant?"

"Yes."

He saw his brother too coming downstairs and Bonnie following him, "Oh my God." He sounded shocked. "I have to talk to her."

"Yes you do, I called her here, as you know if her father found out about you, he will go against me , my dad, you and Damon, everyone! But you know what Stefan, Caroline would be damaged the most, because her father wouldn't allow her the baby, or maybe he miraculously does let her have the baby, there will be consequences." she bit her lower lip, "I know what happened was a mistake or maybe fun, I don't know, but I request you to support her."

Like Damon, Stefan too had a rich love life when it came to girls- even after returning from the wedding Elena saw him with a few other girls and it did make her sick, she didn't dislike Stefan , she still didn't like him for her soft hearted friend.

He didn't say anything, Damon came forward and touched Elena's shoulder, "Come on, let him process this."

She nodded and held Damon's hand , going back upstairs with him, "I still have to finish the room before Care gets here. I've told her to stay with me a few days, is that okay with you?" She asked him, he nodded, "Of course, she's your friend and now the mother of Stefan's child, I guess that makes us something." His confused shrug made her chuckle and she leaned in to kiss his cheek, "Okay I am upstairs if you need anything honey." she moved away from him towards Bonnie who was already on the staircase, and he just stood there, She called him honey. Did she know how bad he was? How many people had died due to him? How many people he had killed without a second thought? She called him honey? Did Elena like him? He shook his head, he sounded like a fourteen year old boy- no a twelve year old.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

"It's going to be okay Care, don't worry." Elena said hugging her Blonde friend as she left Stefan's room crying earlier, "He says he's confused, he doesn't know if he wants kids yet."

"Caroline it's okay you needed a week before you could accept the baby, didn't you?" she parted cupping her face, Bonnie too sat on the couch in the living room near Caroline and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Stefan's not an asshole Caroline, he is a responsible man believe it or not , he's just a little confused right now."

"I don't want him to marry me or anything , but Dad would never let me have the baby, I just need a place and protection in case something happens." She said to dark-skinned girl, Elena huffed, "So? Stefan isn't the only one who can help, you can stay here with me, as my friend, I'll tell dad and we'll convince your father, until then you can stay here, Damon and I are happy to help, he even said that he accepts you as his nephew's mother."

"What if it's a niece?" she asked looking at her lap, chuckling between the tears.

"He still accepts you as his 'whatever's mother."

Caroline laughed at her robotic tone and Elena sighed of relief , wiping the tears away from her cheeks, "Yeah chin up now. I want to show you something." She grasped her wrist. Bonnie nodded, "Yes we worked all day."

"Really? Guys that's so sweet." Her eyes welled up in tears again. Elena groaned, "God Caroline you're two weeks pregnant get over your hormones." Bonnie snickered, "We have to invest in a lot of tissue papers- pregnancy edition."

They took her upstairs and Elena put her hands over Caroline's still wet lids, "You cant see yet."

"Seriously Elena." Caroline tried to move her hands away but she resisted.

Bonnie turned the lights in the room, and Elena moved her hands away from Caroline's eyes, "TADA."

"Oh my gosh!" Caroline gasped as she looked around the huge purple room, a large window at one end, near which lied a Crib beautifully decorated , the room had huge teddy bears and stuffed toys scattered around it away from the freshly painted walls, white bean bags to a side, some boxes lied on the side, "This is so beautiful. This room- is just." She broke into sobs, Elena and Bonnie huffed and wrapped her in a hug, "Guys this is so beautiful- seriously no more hormones crying." She was out of words, Elena smiled, "We just want you to feel at home."

"Yeah I do."

"You know we didn't yet make the library." Elena said gesturing to the boxes, "We can make it soon- together , we left out a few things so we'd do it together, and I know how much you like decorating."

"Yes I cant believe you did this." She looked at the room again, "You took away my thing you know- the designing thing."

"You cant repaint the room Care." She said strictly.

"Can we at least lighten it a bit." She asked jokingly.

"Seriously care, don't push it."

(-HMHMHM-)

She went back to the room and it was empty, she sighed, guess she missed Damon's rare appearance again, and it didn't felt good, she was going to close the door of the room when she heard his voice from the office, feeling sudden excitedness over it she made her way to the home office but stopped outside hearing his harsh tone.

"No you listen to me Grayson! I've had enough of you hiding around, don't think I forgot about it, you gather your men and get the hell out, I did my end of the deal, married your daughter and now you're turning on your word, killing my men? How dare you think I'd let this go un-noticed, You shouldn't be worried about Kol at this point, fear me because your daughter is right here Gray , she's right here, you either be a heartless father and kill the men in your custody or be a wise caring dad and let them go and tell your men to clear the damn fucking area, do you understand Gray!" he shouted and shut the phone. When he walked across to sit on his chair , his eyes fell on Elena, standing at the door, shocked.

He didn't know why but fear hit him, fear that she was upset, that she wont let this go, fear that he hurt her but most of all fear that she was going to leave him- now. She shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Elena." he said getting up his chair, she didn't listen to his soft voice and turned around to go as fast as she could. She needed to get out of here, now.

….

So that's it guys, tell you what If i get reviews- next chapter comes Saturday!


	6. Sad sad girl

Chapter 6

Everything she heard – it hurt. It seriously hurt, she ran the distance back to her room, down the corridor, and slammed the door behind her, only taking a breath when she closed the door, her chest stung from running back so fast. She touched her beating heart, tears started running down her eyes and she hated herself that moment, why was she crying? Did she not expect this? But everything he said- family , yes he called her a part of the family, is that how you treat a part of the family? So bluntly threatening her father, he was no better than Kol, she sat down against the door, bringing her knees close to her face and resting her head on them, he didn't care about her at all. She was indeed a deal to him. Every moment of them played before her eyes and she hissed, how did she fell for it? Shaking her head, she wiped her eyes as anger rushed through her veins and she got up walking to the nightstand with her phone on it, "Hello Jer." She kept her voice steady.

"Elena, what's wro-"

She interrupted, "I am coming back home, I cant stay with this viscously evil man, he's a compulsive liar!" she gritted her teeth.

"What happened? Look Elena, I know the whole Dad and Salvatore feud going on , actually-"

She screamed, "Don't defend him Jer, I don't care, I have my reasons, book a flight for me and make sure the security shows up at the airport, I am leaving." She stated firmly and hung up on him. She had just entered the wardrobe, when she heard the door getting knocked at, "Elena open up." His voice soft. It made her even more angry, did he think she was a child to be lured into his velvety voice, no way in hell, she ignored the continuous knocking until he literally started beating it. "Elena can you hear me, I know damn well you can." He said in a loud voice, showcasing how pissed he really was. She zipped up her bag of essentials and dragged the luggage to the door. When she unlocked the door, he was standing right there in front of her, seemingly angry. He looked down at the bag she was holding on to and sighed, "Really Elena, what is this?"

"Get out of my way Damon." She seethed.

"Leave the bag and we can talk." He took a step ahead and she hissed, "I am not interested in more of your lies. I am not going to stay here unless you lock me in the basement or something, that sounds more like you though."

"Look I was pissed. I'll explain."

"That's no reason for you to talk about me like that." Her eyes filled in tears, "You might as well have just called me a deal." She didn't want him to see how hurt she was but she couldn't stop the tears rolling down her cheeks, "I can't believe I trusted you, shared my feelings with you when you couldn't care less. "

Her broken voice, the tears in her eyes really initiated some storm inside him, he didn't want this- he didn't plan on this, he didn't want her to hurt and cry. She was an innocent girl with no idea how much of a monster he was on the daily, and she gave him a chance, but he screwed it up. But shouldn't she understand that he could never hurt her, just looking at her made him calmer, made him a man he wasn't.

"Elena wait." He called as she walked across to leave. He turned around to see her dragging her bag after her, not stopping as she walked faster, "Elena you cant leave now, it's dark outside." She went down the stairs and went towards the huge door to exit, she could hear his steps and she started to move faster, opening the door, the tall built guards stared at her and she glared at them, they looked back at Damon for approval , and he nodded at them, he didn't want her to feel more forced to live here, when she moved past them , he followed her, "Elena come on sweetheart listen to me."

She clutched the bag handle tightly when she saw the heavy rain storm going on outside, she groaned and decided to step out. Immediately her clothes were wet and stuck to her body as she stepped out the gate, Damon let out an exasperated sigh, running his hand across his face, he ran after her and held her arms, turning her to him, she pushed against him but he held her in place, "Let me go."

"Elena listen to me."

"I don't want to, I want to go home and not see your face." She looked away from him.

He pursed his lips, "What do you want me to do Elena? I didn't mean it damn it."

"But you said it! All that matters to you is that god damn base, all that matters to you is your power, while I was here trying to make us a family, I cant make a family with someone who doesn't know what a family is, I am still a gilbert, I cant be a Salvatore." She said through her teeth. "My father wanted me to marry you because he thought you'd protect me, he literally gave you everything, his bases- his men, and you act like some fucking kidnapper Damon."

"Well Elena , he was killing my men- the one I sent to the base- nothing I did was working."

"So you brought me in? you treated me like a business tactic." she cried, "I told you about my nightmares, my feelings- I opened up to you and now you make me feel like a moron. I can never be just Elena to you, I am Grayson gilbert's daughter , that you need, for your business and you know what the worst part is, I care." Her eyes filled in tears, "I cared about you and this place, and your brother- and your life, every decision you made, I tried to make it work."

"Look at me." he left her arms and cupped her face, "I admit it, I made a mistake, I should have found another way, I am sorry." He swallowed thick, "Please come inside."

She shook her head, "It doesn't matter now, I cant ever forget that, the way you spoke to my dad."

"Elena I cant let you go this way, you're rushing this decision-"

She interrupted, "Look I'll go back and talk to dad to fix your issue, I can't stay here." She looked at his wet face, mesmerized by his ocean blue eyes, so deep, he looked hurt by the look in his eyes and so sorry- but he could be making up those puppy eyes at her, he could be faking this apology as well, she could never trust him. "I don't care about that right now, no this is about you and I. I didn't want to make you feel this way, I've never had boundaries Elena, only when I saw you I realized, what I did was wrong."

His eyes lingered over her wet face, her eyes looking into his, her features softening but he knew there was a shield she was putting up front to save herself from letting his words get to her decision, he had to make her stay, "If you don't want to see me , fine, but you're friend and my brother are in this unexpected pregnancy situation, and I am sure she needs you here."

She almost forgot about Caroline till he said that, her lips parted, her grip on her luggage loosened, and he looked down taking it from her, "I know you will eventually find it in you to forgive me."

"You don't care about my forgiveness; you want your deal to stay here." She shrugged and turned back to the house, she didn't want to go and she didn't want to stay, she wished she could disappear into nothing.

When she came back upstairs , Stefan was standing near the balcony, a drink in his hand, looking at her followed by Damon, she went inside and sat on the couch, the water from her body pooled around her and she watched her husband put the luggage in the wardrobe, "I do care about your forgiveness Elena."

She chuckled humorlessly, she would never trust him again, that's what she thought as she got up and huffed loudly and went out the room, Damon raised his hands in surrender but stayed inside, he wanted to give her space right now, She'd be fine, he told himself, he made her stay, didn't he? The thought brought a smirk on his face as he went to the bathroom to clean up.

Elena went outside thinking she'd make herself some tea, that was going to put her to bed or she would be awake, she went in the direction of the stairs when she heard Stefan's voice, "Elena."

She looked up and saw him calling from the balcony, she sighed and walked there, "What?"

"Is everything okay?"

His concern which sounded genuine didn't warm her heart, instead reminded her of how fake this family was, "No everything is not okay but I couldn't expect better living with two Italian criminals."

He tilted his face to the side, "Mmm you might want to think that again- I mean you come from a criminal family."

She narrowed her eyes, "Yes that's why I am this unfortunate , In any other circumstances the only way I'd know about you two would be from the news."

"What did Damon do?"

"Nothing new- treated me like a deal." She leaned back against the door, "Why are you here drinking till your liver gives up." She looked at the empty bottle behind him, he sat down on the swing there, tapping the side for her to sit, she held up her hand, "I am good."

He sighed, letting his head back, "I am going to be a dad." He closed his eyes, then opened them, "Celebrating."

"It doesn't seem like that." She bit the inside of her cheek, he tapped the space beside him again, "Please Elena."

She shrugged and walked to the swing and sat on it, ignoring the cold wind hitting against her wet body, "Okay I screwed up big time." He sat back, "And by the way- I did use condoms."

"Invest in good quality." She chuckled. He shook his head, "Nope- this is God who screwed me."

He pointed at the sky, Elena pursed her lips as he continued, "Man I can't be a Dad, the closer I've been to kids is at the check out lane in the grocery store- and I wanted to choke it for crying, I am the worst man alive to be a dad."

"You buy groceries."

"I was buying condoms." He said annoyed, "I know I know- good quality, I didn't have time."

She giggled and looked to the scenery of the rain in front of her shaking her head, "I don't think you'll be a bad dad."

"Yeah right." He groaned, "Elena I like Caroline I really do, you know how she talks about the most obnoxious things ever, and how she is so optimistic, so organized- she's fucking hot, but that's all, I don't think she's thinking through."

"No no." Elena shook her head, "She always wanted lots of babies, I mean not now, but she did want that life- Caroline's amazing with kids."

"She is?"

"Yeah, I can name twenty-seven toddlers she's friends with, so she's pretty good in that department." She said thinking about how Caroline was loving with people around her, maybe that's what why she had so many friends. Her recent and quick friendship with Bonnie speaks well about her social skills. "I told her I am not ready, to be involved in a relationship like that, I haven't ever thought about kids, I didn't had any parents to learn from, the closest thing is Damon, I don't know how he is so excited about this parenting thing, he doesn't know what a father is."

She sighed, "He doesn't know a lot of things." She said bitterly, Stefan bit the inside of his cheek, "My brother does things like this."

"What? Marriage?"

He chuckled, "I had warned him about this, he claimed it's a benefiting decision, not the base wise- he wanted to start a family and thought you're perfect fit. He was damn sure."

She blushed but then shook her head, "So Caroline, what are you going to do?"

He let his head back again and breathed out, "Caroline." He sighed, then sat up straight looking ahead, "Something, I have to do something, I cant just let her on her own." He pursed his lips, "That's all I have thought for the past six hours."

"Stefan that's a good start." She smiled, "There's no school to learn parenting- you'll learn along the way."

"Actually there is a school, I looked it up." He said in the most serious tone, "But your idea sounds less bull crap, like learn complete parenting birth to eighteen in a hundred and twenty dollars, there was also a how to control them after 18- hmm it's like five hundred dollars."

She giggled, "Is there a special save your daughter from Stefan Salvatore the lady killer edition?" He smirked , popping up his collar, "That will be selling like hot cakes."

"You should start that business- be the antidote to your own venom." She suggested getting up, He too got up, "Then I have to chop off my penis probably."

Elena shook her head at him as he guided her inside, "let me escort you back."

"You're being a gentleman?"

"I am always a gentleman." He said slightly offended, she walked back to the room followed by him, "Look if you ever feel confused or terrified, you can talk to me." she offered. He nodded, "Therapist to a criminal, it will look good on that resume."

She stood at the door of her room, "I am sure I'll never put that there."

"Speaking of that, I've got you some tutors, so you sure you staying here right?"

She took a deep breath, "Yes. When will those teachers show up?"

"I'll call them in tomorrow." He smiled, "Good night now."

"Good night, don't damage your liver more today okay?"

"Okay Mom." He rolled his eyes. She smiled as she watched him turn around and go, she pressed the handle to her room and reluctantly got inside, she needed a shower, badly, without thinking she headed to the wardrobe and her eyes widened as she saw Damon standing there looking through for his clothes, in there, NAKED, her mouth fell open and she let out an unintentional shriek, "Good Lord what the fuck!" she jerked back and turned around, "Put some clothes on Damn it."

He rolled his eyes and reached for his towel, put it around him, "I thought you weren't sleeping here tonight, by the way you stormed out."

"Well you are one to assume things, arghh just get out already." She turned around and picked up some clothes.

"Elena look-"

"Damon it's twelve and I really don't want to talk to you okay." She stated and went to stand in the bathroom door.

He bit the inside of his cheek as she slammed the bathroom door in his face, he ran a hand through his wet hair and with an exhausted sigh put on his sweats before getting into bed. Grayson went back on his word, he killed Sam, Damon had known him for over thirteen years now, they grew up together, of course Vito had them going to sites together, so many near death situations they had escaped together and when Damon started his own gang, he knew Sam was the one to keep, and now he was dead, no matter how much he told himself his death shouldn't affect him at all, it did. Grayson was getting sympathy support from everyone, every small criminal with a gang of fifty-sixty was protesting, and it had gotten nasty, Grayson did nothing to stop it. Clearly he didn't want to lose his position and God he adored Elena, but he wasn't going to let anyone screw with his plans. He shouldn't have brought Elena in, no it was wrong, but Damon knew Elena was Grayson's weakness, but then again, he felt like Elena enticed him in crazy ways.

He had dimmed the lights in the room when she came out wearing a white lacy shirt dress, that gorgeously hugged her curves, she was toweling her hair in front of the towel and the fruity scent from her bodywash filled the room, she put on her coconut moisturizer on the smooth skin of her legs, then her arms , it shone in the dim light, looking so soft, so tender, he cursed himself for screwing up, maybe if he hadn't he could go over and touch her soft skin, maybe kiss her beautiful peachy lips, pick her up and bring her back to bed with him, he'd slowly pull off her lacy shirt, stroke her soft skin, press his lips to her inviting lips, kiss her small chin , devour in every detail of her, when she had kissed him the other day, he knew she was exactly what he had wanted, he knew she'd taste like heaven that he always wanted, and she was. He immediately thought of what else he'd discover, when he'll have her. Her tempting body made it hard to control himself and he realized he couldn't take this Elena silent treatment for long.

She put her hair in a bun and walked towards the bed, she got into bed beside him and got on her knees , leaning forward to turn off the lamp on her side, his mouth fell open seeing her rounded behind just right in front of him, her slim back, her smooth tan legs- it was all too much, she'd be the death of him, she lied down, facing away from him. He sighed as he watched her , lying as far as possible, near the edge, he sat up taking his pillow and the blanket, she lied straight holding his wrist as he was getting up, "Where are you going?"

He looked at her , he could even make her perfect features in the dark, "Clearly you don't want to be in the same room as me, let alone the same bed."

She sighed sitting up and left his hand, looking down.

"I am gonna take some other room in the house." He announced in a low voice and grabbed his pillow and his blanket.

(-HMHMHM-)

Elena was still tired, she hadn't gotten enough sleep after he left, she just didn't feel protected, ironic, Bonnie was putting her luggage back in her cupboard while she was putting her hair in curls, today she'd meet with her teachers, she couldn't look like a woman ,unsatisfied with her marriage. She wore a burgundy sheath dress with a white mini blazer and white asymmetrical sandals. Bonnie walked over to the dresser, "Let me help."

"It's okay I can." She almost snapped.

"Elena, is everything okay? You're awfully quiet, that's not you." She said biting her lower lip, Elena looked at her, "I am just nervous."

"Oh god you'll do fine, it's your day one any way."

"But I don't want them to perceive me as some serial killer, you think they'll not be afraid?" she asked her plugging off the curler.

"Most of the people Stefan got are here and there related, they know and they wont give you a hard time about it." She assured, "Besides if they do, Mr. Salvatore can always take care of it." She winked.

"I don't want him too, he shouldn't be getting involved in my problems, God knows how I am standing him."

"Rude." Bonnie said with a frown, "Elena I know he screwed up, but come on he is still the amazing man who saved you the other day."

"No it wasn't him Bon, he was someone else, this guy- I don't like him, now that I know him." She shook her head, "Come on." She slipped on her wedding ring as she left for the exit.

(-HMHMHM-)

She had till now met two of her teachers, two were left, she smiled as her teacher entered the class like room she was given, A room with a large window like her bedroom, but it opened to the back of the house, a large board in front of the conference table, a projector- it seemed like it was the gang's meeting room, she shook her head at the idea of studying in the same room where her husband planned murders , but she knew why Stefan had picked it out, the room had a wooden floor at the back , with large amount of empty space , her equipment along with the teacher's was set there, A canvas, paint brushes, sketch books, sheets for the canvas- everything she'd want there.

Her teacher seemed like in his mid-thirties, dark brown hair, a very warm smile on his face, "Hello Elena , I am Alaric Saltzman, I'll be teaching you your social course."

She returned the smile and shook hands with him, as he sat right in front of her, "So today I'll start by describing what I'll be teaching you, is basically the 'boring' parts." He made a face which made her chuckle, "Like history, current affairs and some general sciences that you are probably going to be better at than I am."

"No please don't keep expectations." She begged, this man seemed a little loose than the other two, she could speak to him, "I haven't went to college in two years, I really don't remember anything, or even how to study, and since morning, everyone had been just assuming I know this and that, it's given me more stress than when I gained five full pounds before my high school prom."

He laughed letting his hands up in surrender, "Okay so that's what been going on missy- I am sorry I assumed." He stated opening the books, "You wont be needing these, most your work would be research- but for that you have to definitely read these." He pointed to history books, "You have twelve units this half semester, but since you'll be giving finals so you'll have to cover twenty-four." She heard carefully as he started explaining it to her.

(-HMHMHM-)

Elena gaped in awe seeing the flawless sketch of her, her art teacher , Tyler Lockwood, drew of her in a few minutes, he had every feature on point, every shadow of her face was falling perfectly, Tyler was a newly graduate student, he'd been the topper of his year, and she knew why, he was gifted. He assigned her a task of drawing anything of her choice and when she miserably failed, he showed her how it's done. It was evening and she was so tired from the work that she had taken off her heels and put her feet up on the chair, like Tyler said, all his students were his friends, also followed it by saying she was his first student, she felt very at ease with him.

"This is so beautiful." She got up the chair and walked forward to the canvas, "I didn't even sit still."

"You don't have to." He shrugged, "The picture is here." He pointed to his head, "See what happens when you love what you do."

"This is amazing Mr. Lockwood."

He scrunched up his face, "Please call me Tyler. I insist."

She understood what he meant, she didn't want to be called Mrs. Salvatore as well, the name belonged to some woman who was two weeks away from desiccating.

"Okay Tyler." She stressed on the name, blushing. Tyler rolled over the page, "Now it's your turn."

She laughed, "Yeah right." Her giggle echoed in the room, Tyler shook his head, "I am not kidding Elena, look I am not telling you to be Picasso , just draw something simple, so I know what's left." Elena ahd showed him some pictures of her art and he seemed really impressed.

Damon checked the grandfather clock as he heard his wife's faint giggles from the back of the house, It was eight, every other tutor took like an hour, just what Bonnie had told him, and this man was with his wife for two and half hours and she was still laughing, well she'd be tired if she were studying, his angry head roared at him. What was this feeling? Jealousy? He had to laugh- he was never jealous, this was crazy, Elena was his, why did he have to worry? – because she wasn't his, his mind replied. He got up and left his home office following the giggles, time to tell that he overstayed his welcome, he walked up the stairs to the second floor and walked to the room.

Elena was laughing at the frame of a cat she drew, "I am so sorry Tyler."

"Elena it's very good, look you just need to shade it here a bit, then we're good to start on the features, see." He held her hand and guided it to the paper, her pencil started shading expertly and the shape of the drawing was becoming contoured.

Damon was fuming in his position, this man was standing against his wife , his chest pressed against her back, his face too close to her neck, his hand holding hers, and he just stood there watching it like a damn masochist, Elena gave a toothy smile back at Tyler when she was done, "Okay it doesn't look so bad."

"See I told you , you still got it Chica." He said softly, she finally realized how close they were standing and she turned around almost bumping into him, "You just need one thing." He said, his hand pressed hers and her lips parted , looking into his eyes, "What?"

"Ehm hm." Damon cleared his throat, he saw how Tyler jumped away from Elena in a second, responding to his presence, Elena looked side to side between them, not sure of what Damon had received from this. "It's been a long day for you darling." He gestured to Elena. she nodded backing away. Damon tilted his head slightly, "Lockwood , you come here at five and you will leave at sharp six, you wont be standing with a beating heart if you delayed your stay for a minute."

Tyler nodded and packed up his stuff, Elena mouthed an apology to him which went un-noticed to Damon as he was digging holes in Tyler's face by staring at him so angrily.

Elena walked towards the door and Damon got to a side, not looking at her, she stopped for a moment seeing his face, then walked out, Damon walked inside and picked up the pencil Elena left on the table , Tyler looked at him as he broke it in half with no expressions on his face and tossed it on the table in front of Tyler, "Elena wont notice this pencil tomorrow, it's just a pencil right, you're just a guy she met today Tyler, she wont notice you being gone." He warned then gave his face a light tap, "Don't think you can do something here." Tyler swallowed thick but nodded, "Don't worry Sir."

"Hmm I won't."

(-HMHMHMHM-)

Elena waited for him to show up, it was mid-night, was he out on his missions again? The thought alone infuriated her, just when she was about to close the light to sleep, he opened the door and walked inside, picking up his usual pillow , he liked this pillow- nothing else was as good, he picked it up. She sat up and groaned, "You really need to do this every night?"

"What? thought you didn't want me here." He shrugged, avoiding to look at her, she bit the inside of her cheek and got up from the bed, "Are you punishing me for your mistake?" her hands on her hips, "You're purposely making me feel guilty when I shouldn't even, you were the one who hurt me." she clutched her hands at her side, "And then earlier you showed up there.'

"I can show up anywhere I want Elena, this is my house remember." He said in a harsh tone. She pursed her lips, "Damon, I know what you saw- nothing was going on, just bad timing."

He narrowed his eyes then shook his head, "What does it matter any way." She fisted her hands, she stepped forward and breathed deep, "If I wanted escape, I would have escaped."

"You don't want to stay because of me, you want to stay because-"

She interrupted, "How come you always decide what I think? How would you know what I think?" she took another step towards him, "It never crossed your head once that I might actually be hurt- heartbroken because of you, because that's just so impossible." She said ironically, "Right when you said those few sentences Damon, it just threw whatever we had, you know that night under the moon, that night out on the swing. The other night when you practically lulled me to sleep. Where the hell is that man Damon." she asked him.

"He's not me Elena, the man you heard that day- that's me, the one you saw earlier, that's me." he spat, "You know what the fucking difference is, is that I care about you, you bring out this fake fuck in me when I am around you." He held her harshly against him, an unintentional shriek left her mouth, as she stared into his blue eyes, "Why do I act like that around you? A fucking pussy who wants to make you laugh and smile, someone who wants to bring the world at your feet, the very second I saw you- I wanted to drop everything and just get you, who the fuck does that?"

"Calm down." She chanted her fingers brushed his jawline lightly

"Calm down? Don't you tell me to do whatever! Ghh this is so insane." He left her and she stepped back silent, watching every shifting of emotions on his face, he ran his hand in his hair furiously, and grabbed her again, "I know I messed up but how can you just think that you don't matter to me, how can you walk away from me? Cant you see I care about you, when I don't want to admit it but on the inside I know it, I try to do whatever you want me to, I try to understand." His eyes shone with emotion, as one of his hand stroked her cheek, his gaze lingering on her slightly parted lips, the shallow sounds of breathing which were audible to him in the silence, her wide doe eyes as she looked up at him without blinking, she mouthed, "You're drunk."

He closed his eyes and hissed, "Let's not bring that into this."

"Damon." She swallowed thick, "Just lie down here." She gestured to the bed, he moved away from her, "I told you, don't tell me what to do." He said with a groan, and reached forward to hold her yet again, "I need your answer Elena, you really feel that way? That I don't care? Tell me you stayed back for me, not for anything else and honestly that's all I want to hear, that you care about me like I do."

Her eyes travelled over his features , she slowly cupped his face, "We will talk about this when you're okay."

She pushed him back to the bed and set his pillow under his head, his eyes didn't close, "I'd tell you to stay away from Lockwood, Elena, but what does it matter, I can't have you either way." His voice struck waves of guilt within her, he wouldn't admit it, but he sounded as hurt as a puppy after being abandoned. This wasn't fair, she thought, she did nothing wrong to be feeling this way- Did Damon feel like he didn't deserve her, the thought broke her heart, his lost voice, his hurt eyes. She pursed her lips running a hand through his messed up hair, he purred closing his eyes, "I love your hands, cream cheeks." He let his head fall to the side, giving into sleep. She kept running her hands in his hair, till she was sure he was relaxed, "I do feel Damon, that's why it hurt." She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his temple, her hand cupping the side of his face, his features were relaxed and if she hadn't known him, she would have thought of him as some angel, that's how harmless his face was.

(-HMHMHM-)

When she woke up, she was alone on the bed, she frowned and sat up running a hand through her rough hair, "Damon?"

She couldn't hear him in the room, when she turned her face around to the nightstand, with an arched brow, she dragged herself picking up the white rose, He left her a flower? She smiled- Damon was sorry, that was all that mattered, she smiled, he was honest with her last night, he was vulnerable with her for the first time. She reached for her phone beside it and dialed his number which went straight to voicemail, with a frustrated sigh on the third call , she settled on a text instead, what was suitable to write?

The next second she was sitting in between Bonnie and Caroline.

"He's still mad about the Tyler thing." Elena pursed her lips, "Or he wouldn't leave me like that in the morning."

"How didn't you know when he left?" Bonnie asked with a frown, "I am heavy sleeper." She shrugged, "Can you guys please suggest something that is not desperate but is a bit-" she blushed, "A bit nice."

"Just tell him , it's on tonight baby." Caroline winked.

Elena and Bonnie gave her the poker face, Elena pointed at her belly, "That attitude is the reason you'll be going into labor after eight months."

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Seriously Elena, your husband was glowing at the wedding and now he looks like-"

"My husband is very gorgeous thank you very much." She turned to Bonnie, 'What would you suggest?"

"I mean- he's hot." She shrugged.

"About the text." Elena clarified with gritted teeth, "What would you suggest I send him, a thank you, or like- something else."

"Definitely something else."

Caroline took her phone from her, "Just write something, a bit sweet and a bit slutty."

"No no Caroline." She blushed , "write something-"

"Done." Caroline huffed giving her back the phone to her, Elena's took the phone , checking what she sent_, "Missed you when you left today, btw found awesome plan b pills 20% off, what ya say- you ready for this lil boy?"_

Elena screamed, "What did you do."

"Airplane mode." Bonnie shouted.

"It sent! He saw it." Elena shrieked, Bonnie too shouted, "Omg he'll think you're some freak."

"Noooo!" Elena looked at the text again, then Caroline, "You monster! You know I'd never save 20 percent off on anything related to birth control, you obviously did."

"Relax Elena, Mr. Salvatore would know it's not you."

"As if. It works all the time." Caroline winked, "Get your ovaries ready."

"Ughh why is she staying here." Elena got up from Caroline's bed, "You're right." She sighed, "Damon would definitely know its not me, we didn't even resolve our issue yet, he's not a horny dog like Stefan who is going to throw this problem mid way, for weird kinky Mommy-lil boy sex."

Her phone beeped and Caroline had a proud smirk on her face, color washed from her face as she read the text, "_Born ready baby, however there is nothing little here."_

Elena pursed her lips as the images of the other night came in front of her eyes, yup- he wasn't little- at all. She swallowed thick, as Caroline let her hand out for her as if asking for the phone.

(-HMHMHM-)

"What are you doing?" Damon said as he entered the meeting room in the dark headquarters , Stefan was holding his phone and almost rolling on the floor laughing, "You'll thank me."

Damon frowned as he walked over to watch , "You're texting Elena."

"Yeah she's a total freak." He shook his head, Damon gasped as if offended and slapped him on the neck , taking his phone back "How the fuck are you reading my personal messages."

"Maybe the password shouldn't be password." Stefan rolled his eyes, "Cool wife though, you're right- she is special."

Damon frowned, "You know this is the reason, they are picking Enzo over you for Italy."

'I don't want to go to fucking Italy." Stefan said rudely, "I've told you I'll stay here."

"Stop being a man child, you need to exercise the power back on Tony's areas, like I did here in America, you wanna be called a freaking side kick."

"I am going to have a baby Damon." He reasoned, "And you may think I am a fucking loser, but I am going to be here till it arrives, and I am going to give it a shot."

"Oh now this baby is the excuse, you didn't give a shit about the baby and now when I ask you to take this seriously, you're father of the year huh?"

Stefan shrugged, "Whatever you perceive is not my responsibility, the baby is mine, you'd know what it feels like if you actually had one." He walked out of the room and Damon shook his head, "Dramatic son of a bitch." He looked down at his phone going through the thread, Elena rarely texted him, and this thread was never ending, "What the fuck?" he read with a scrunched up face, "Stefan you son of a-" he called as he followed his brother out of the room.

(-HMHMHM-)


	7. I thought that i could change you

He had first seen Elena during the death anniversary event that Grayson held for his wife every year in December. He was ordered to target and shoot his one and only daughter Elena, who was just seventeen at the time, however on seeing her , he couldn't pull the trigger, it was the first time in his life that a woman's eyes had made his fingers numb to even press that trigger, he couldn't. Instead he went warned everyone to not harm her in any way. He couldn't understand why? Of course he knew, she was beautiful, but lots of women were, and even though he tried- he couldn't shake this girl off his head, no other woman would do for him except her and he realized that, maybe this was an obsession. He was blindly in love with her. The following around, knowing everything he could about her, he knew how she sounded when she laughed, when she cried- when she was excited or just tired, he knew everything. At her eighteen birthday, he decided to abduct her, he did try, but Klaus interrupted , his own brother , telling him to knock some sense into himself because she was an enemy, but he felt like a junkie, he couldn't just look and look and not have her, he needed to. He'd go behind Klaus's back- but that wouldn't turn out so great, till he decided , he didn't need anyone to tell him what to do. The plan had been a failure and resulted in, Elena's marriage, which he would never accept, what the fuck does a marriage mean? Elena would never have gotten married if it weren't for her father. Klaus was right, he should have been more patient, but it didn't mean the end of everything- he still had a very solid chance. Kol stood on the deck of his yacht as he smoked his Robusto cigar, he didn't know he'd feel so helpless, he always got what he wanted since the start, he wanted Elena and she was far away from his reach and it was already a month to her meaningless marriage, he lost her to no other than that Italian bastard, who he had no idea had his gaze set on Elena, all Kol ever perceived of him was that he was a greedy motherfucker. Most of the small racketeers like him didn't make it so far, but guess he did, Damon Salvatore did, but if thinking he could over power Michaelsons in business and then snatch away Elena? he was under-estimating Kol fucking Michaelson. He wasn't going to win forever. He felt his phone buzz in his pants and he sighed reaching for it, "Hello. How's it going?"

"The girl is easy, it's not going to be a tough job." The voice assured.

"I hope not, I got you into that Bastard's house, I want the girl." He cleared his throat.

"Okay boss."

(-HMHMHMHMHM-)

Damon gestured the man in the off white suit to sit on the chair placed in front of the table between them, the man was over sixty, the skin on his cheeks sagging, his white brows constantly furrowing at the young man sitting in front of him. He kept his snake head cane against the table's edge and sat clearing his throat, "It's good to finally meet you Salvatore." His voice shaky because of his age.

"I wish I could say the same Butorin , Although the circumstances deprive me of that feeling. I know what's going on Sergei- I really do." His long fingers pulled open the drawer, "Cigarettes? Cigars?"

"I cut an year ago."

"Ah- health conscious." He commented before shutting the drawer. "I know what your brotherhood is doing, by not letting me in, you guys are protesting for a man, who doesn't know business." He sat straight, "You defend Grayson? He's playing the victim by acting like I forced this and pushed this on him but I assure you I am very much against that."

"Tell me your deal." He interrupted, "I know what you want Damon, you don't want to work with us, you want to work above us." He spat, "I've met men like you before claiming to be the part of our brotherhood, what the hell do you know about us? Grayson was easy to pressure , he was pressed under my thumb."

"I don't want to take over Sergei, I understand the struggle of your brotherhood and as much as you hate me, you have to agree on the fact that my ideas are substantial and not based on an emotional preference, unlike you or Grayson, he couldn't make it because of his daughter and you cant because you are too damn stubborn to let an Italian in." he shrugged.

"You want to corrupt what I have worked on throughout my life and I do not allow that." The old man slapped the desk, Damon rolled his eyes, "Yeah what about Grayson huh?"

"I told you I considered him not a problem." He said fisting his hands. Damon shook his head, "Sergei I am being civil with you because I owe you this, I remember you helping me and Stef when I needed it, but it doesn't mean I'll let you screw me this way, you killed my men, you killed Sam." He finally said it then sighed, "But I let it slip, now it's your call, either you do the damage control of your brain washing, you know you hold the majority there."

"Yes I do." He said through his teeth.

"Or-or." Damon chuckled wickedly, " I can easily order my men to start the massacre that you've been dreading okay? I have two strong bases in Italy and America as you see, I have thousands of men lined up here , training to end anyone, I am giving you a last chance Sergei , do it my way." He warned.

The man shook his head, "I will tear you apart." The man seethed, "I will make you realize where you came from, your bloody worth and where you would be heading with that attitude."

"And I'll be waiting on your answer." He gave an unbothered smile which caused to redden the old man's face a bit more as he got up and left. Damon too got up his chair and sighed as he loosened the tie, Stefan entered the cabin and raised his brows, "I might have heard him shout."

"He did." Damon bit the inside of his cheek, "He regrets helping us ever." Stefan could see regret in his brother's eyes before he blinked it away, "We need to give him a proposition that gets him to agree with us."

"Why don't we just charge on him, he can do nothing."

"No Stefan I don't want to when it's not necessary, he did help us when Vito died." Damon recalled.

Stefan shook his head, "So what? he killed forty seven men Damon , it's all because Gray motivated him in god knows what way and he did it, he killed the men we left Italy with. Doesn't that move you at all?"

He nodded turning to his brother, "Yes it does, it does hurt my pride, but Stefan if he wasn't there to save us- I would have never been able to protect you, we wouldn't have gotten out of there and started in the first place." He let out a breath, "And that to me holds some value." He tapped his fingers against the table anxiously, "I am growing up and I feel like I need to rationalize every move I make to check all the resulting consequences."

Stefan huffed taking off his coat, "Right, weren't you the one who didn't want to make his move with emotion and now all I see is feelings pouring out."

"You know I don't really care what you think, I need you to prepare a proposition and if it doesn't work, I'll do what I do." He spat as he loosened his tie further, "And don't you dare text my wife again."

(-HMHMHMHM-)

He felt exhausted coming back home at this hour, it was past midnight already, the whole house was quiet- rare, ever since Caroline Forbes came by, this place was never quiet. The girl was a firecracker. When ever he woke up and got ready for work he'd hear her talking to Bonnie or later Elena in a voice which held ear shattering frequency. So quiet was good, he liked quiet. Damon smirked as he got to his room. Oddly the lights were still on, although Elena slept with the lights off, he got inside the room making minimum noise and frowned to see her still up, sitting by the window, a clutter of rolled up sketch paper around her and she was busy tracing on a paper with focus. He knocked on the door to get her attention and she looked at him, up from her papers, "Oh-hi." She yawned and stretched her arms as if tired, when she got up the pages fell down her lap and she palmed her forehead, "I am sorry." She said leaning to pick it up.

"What are you doing up so late?"

"I had a curfew?" She chuckled, then stood up, "Well my teacher told me I lack something- inspiration." She sighed, "And ever since he said that it's stuck with me, so I couldn't close my eyes, I just wanted to make something." She gestured to the clutter, "I'll clean that up."

"Uh no Elena, go to bed."

She frowned, "Mm it's fine Damon , I don't feel much sleepy."

She sat back by the window, "You're on time." She said sarcastically. He grinned as he ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah I had a guest at the office so I actually waited a lot for him."

"Are you going to bed?" she asked seeing him walk to the wardrobe, "Why?" he asked from a far.

"I am hungry, do you want to have some dinner?" she asked biting her lip. He came back wearing a black V-neck and pants. "The staff is asleep."

"We can cook." She offered.

(-HMHMHM-)

He was mixing the ground beef, garlic and green pepper in the pan, "No I don't think you'd need that anyway, what did you think about when you were drawing first, before you lost the ability."

"Nothing." She wiped the tears from her cheeks chopping the onions her best through her blurred vision, "You know I was just a kid , trying to be like my mother, she painted well and maybe it was my way of remembering her."

"You give me that, you chop them like they owe you money." He shook his head at the uneven onions she cut, she pouted, "Well can I do the tomatoes?"

"Sure but ask them first."

"Damon!" she whined.

"Fine, here." He passed her the bowl of the tomatoes he washed.

"You know what?" he asked as he chopped the onions evenly and Elena was surprised by the precision of it while he was looking over the pan and talking, "I think the whole pulling you out of college messed you up."

"Maybe."

"It has to be that, you thought the art is going no where and that's the moment you decided you aren't going to do it and you lost practice progress." He said calmly and she felt like he read her whole mind in a second, "Even though the art lived inside you, the only reason you ever wanted to draw and paint was because you thought you could express yourself."

"Yes." She interrupted in a lost voice, "No one listened to me and whenever I'd make a sketch or a painting it was my statement and people would see it and they'd try to get to the root of my thoughts and once I felt like there is no one left to do that, I stopped." She blinked, "But I shouldn't have. It was the only thing I felt at peace with, you know when I'd paint or craft or sketch- it was like a whole new world you know." Her eyes glimmered as she spoke, "Mom and I use to do that together, sometimes she'd tell me that I was a princess with magic." She chuckled, "I made things and I gave things color." She sighed, "So when she passed away, I tried to swallow it down with this activity, but Dad told me that I have to abandon this, I have to let go." She smiled.

"You don't need to." He shrugged, "You found a way to connect, who the hell are Michaelsons to take that away." His hand clenched the knife a little, he then added the onions to it and continued mixing it, "Elena."

"Hmm." She said while struggling to chop tomatoes.

"That looks disgusting." He gestured to her work, her jaw dropped, "Can you not be so discouraging Damon, I am trying."

"Look Honey I've seen Stefan do it better when he was twelve." He rolled his eyes and took the tomatoes from her despite her protest, "Well give me something to do."

"You can clean the plates and the forks, that's the toughest job." He said in a taunting voice, she gritted her teeth, "Right."

She went over to the sink and cleaned the dishes, then hopped to sit on the counter, "So what are the frown lines about?"

"What frown lines?" he asked in a fake worry voice.

"Come on you can tell me." she sighed, "I bet it's about that guest."

He put the spaghetti in the boiler and set another pan for sauce, avoiding her question, she raised a brow, "Damon."

"It's this guy from Russia." He waved it off, "He doesn't want me to introduce my business there."

"and how is that stopping you? You get everything." She shrugged as if it's not a big problem, he turned around, "It's not that simple, you wont understand." He said moving back to look over the pans, he never realized she walked up behind him and held his bicep, slowly turning him to her, "Try me." she whispered from her soft lips and his eyes lingered there for a moment before he swallowed thick, "There was this guy Vito, Stefan and I worked for him in Naples and then he expanded his bases to Rome. It didn't work out and he was shot. Then the Michaelsons took full advantage of that and tired to take over bases, killing the men who refused to give up their base, Stefan was hardly eighteen and he survived a target kill because this other man, the guest I had today." He turned to stir the sauce, "Saved him and seeing how my sole purpose at the moment had been survival, I came off like a twenty-two year old with no plan and he took pity, took me and Stefan in, taught us a thing or two-"

"And now you are forced to destroy him." She ended it for him. He rolled his eyes, "I have no choice, majority is there and they expect an expansion, I've promised an expansion."

"so why doesn't this man understand? Doesn't he know you?" she asked softly, he drained the water from the spaghetti and she picked up a large bowl, he mixed it with the sauce and the cooked beef, "HE knows me, but he feels that there is a shift in my motive, it was survival now it is expansion. In his own words multiple times, an Italian isn't going to corrupt his brotherhood."

She frowned, "So don't do it, don't deploy men there."

"And what about all this Bratva-Cosa Nostra feud going on Elena, a lot of people are involved here, a lot of areas function under this, once I take this back, they will think I am a coward and pounce on me." he said bitterly, "And I've already lost almost fifty men due to this conservative Bratva mindset."

She bit her lip from speaking as he put the spaghetti in the plates and set a fork for her, "Anyways I don't want to talk about it." He huffed, "And I had to ask you something."

"Hmm." She said pulling out a chair from the table in the kitchen and sat, he did to right in front of her, "You texted me."

Once he mentioned her cheeks went red, she bit her lip as she looked up, "I did?" playing oblivious. There was no escape.

"Yeah I have receipts if you doubt." He winked at her and she looked down at her meal, "Look I wanted to text you, but I didn't- Caroline did."

"Oh thank god." He let out a sigh, she raised a brow.

"Co-incidentally Stefan was being an asshole and was on my phone, so the whole thing-"

She nodded with a laugh, "Ahh I kind of figured out it didn't sound like you."

"Really?" he felt a little heat rush up to his cheeks at her sweet smile, "What do I sound like?" he asked with a flirtatious grin, she rolled her eyes at his antics, "I think you're classy , you sound –" she clenched her eyes tightly then opened them, "Collected and in control , rather than being desperate." She shrugged.

He popped his collar tauntingly , she gasped and got ahead playfully punching his bicep, "Aren't you a narcissist Mr.Salvatore ."

"It's called self-appreciation Ma'am , look it up." He said taking a bite from the spaghetti , she sighed looking at her empty plate and leaned forward with her fork, "Can I ?"

"Dig in."

She chuckled and leaned forward sharing his plate, "This is delicious."

"I am not wearing a kiss the cook apron, my bad." He pouted, she chuckled, "Aww look who's getting carried away." She pulled away and got on her feet as she took her plate to the sink, he blinked unbelievingly at her tease as she had swayed her hips walking to the sink, he followed, "So what did you wanna text me about."

"Nothing special." She shrugged, "Just that I heard you last night." She sighed as she turned around to go, he followed, "Heard me?"

"You were sorry, that's all I received from whatever you said." She sighed as she went up the stairs, "and when I woke up."

"When you woke up?" he asked for her to continue as she walked ahead of him to their room, "I don't know okay." She blushed, "I missed you."

He stood there in his place, she missed him- this whole sentence sounded so nice, so sweet. When he went inside the room, she was picking up the rolled up papers, he walked over to her and watched as she threw it in the bin, "There all done." She smiled.

"It's almost two, you should get to bed." He suggested, she rolled her eyes, "Why are you sounding like my father?" he scrunched up his face, "Umm you have a whole day of classes tomorrow young lady."

She giggled at his voice shift and bowed dramatically . When she changed her clothes to a t-shirt and cream lacy shorts, she got into the bed, she took the left side, waiting for him to take his place. When he came out of the bathroom, she gave him a warm smile, with a tired sigh , he slipped in next to her. She propped her head on her elbow, "If you pull your men from there, maybe you can gain his trust and he'd feel you aren't a threat you know." She said above a whisper.

"Hmm." He thought about the possibility, which was risky but not a total failure ensured.

She turned off the lamp on her side, the room was less lit as she moved forward to his side, lying by his side, with her head supported up on her elbow, "Tell me."

His eye twitched as if he was snapped out of a thought, "Hmm what?"

"Give me an explanation of why you talked about me like that? Like marrying me was a business move." Her voice was raspy and her eyes sad.

"No-no honey I made a mistake." He said as he stroked her cheek, his eyes looking up at her, his thumb running softly under her eyes, "I was in the moment, I got this news of men dying, just this guy I knew for so long- and he was dead so my switch kinda flipped- I said some things I didn't mean, hell I didn't even remember what I said." He whispered.

She pursed her lips looking at his ocean eyes, they were so deep they lured her in all the time, she could never look away, "You said you did your end of the deal by marrying me, you threatened my dad that you could do whatever because I was here- hurt me, kill me."

"Baby." He shook his head, "I can never hurt you." He moved up a little , holding her against him as he pressed his lips to her forehead, she closed her eyes and let her hands fall against his chest, he cupped her face , his thumbs brushing against her cheeks, "I never wanted you to feel this way, I don't know how or why I said it Elena- I was just mad at myself for being so careful with you, and I was pushing myself to be a little selfish and then that news- I am sorry." He pulled her against him as he lied back on the pillow with her, "But know this, I'd never hurt you, but I feel like you know that."

"Mmhmm." She opened her eyes and looked up at him, "I forgive you." She smiled as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, she felt butterflies inside her as he kissed her back gently, his hand cupped one side of her face, she pulled away slightly to look into his eyes, then kissed him again, his lips pulled on her lower lip, his tongue licking at it, when she opened her mouth for him, he entered his tongue inside her small mouth, his tongue attempted to initiate a movement with hers, which caused a vibration in the space between her legs, she pulled back, "Okay confession time." She bit her lip and chuckled, "I can't kiss with tongue."

He laughed at her sheepish expression, "There's nothing to learn sweetheart, come here." He cupped her face, his eyes gazed into hers for a moment before falling back on her lips, "Do what I do." He whispered as his lips brushed over hers, she moaned from the tender movement and her lips slightly parted allowing the intrusion of his tongue, his tongue lightly pressed the tip of hers before moving around it and this time she shifted her body on top of him, trying to fight back the movement and dominate his talented tongue. Then she pulled away slowly sucking on his lower lip, when she parted her lips from his, his grip around her tightened as if telling her to not move and his lips still leaning forward to brush against hers, he let out a sigh as one of his hand brushed up her arm to caress her face, "You should really call it a night."

She giggled, "Are you sleepy, old man?"

He gasped dramatically , "Just that I care about your health or I very much cherish your company." He pressed another peck on her plump lips, she shook her head at him and rested her face against his shoulder, "I never thought I'd take liking of someone like-"

"Me." he raised a brow. She looked up from her position, "Ahuh." She ran her hands over his chest, "After seeing Dad and Jeremy for years, in this world, it was my mission almost to find someone who is far from these things and this life, not like I had experienced any other life, but I'd tell myself that this is the reason Mom died, but then I met you and everything was just so easy." She whispered, "Talking to you and compromising over something, even being so close, as if it's natural." She smiled, "And I told myself that there is no way out, I am destined for this life and you are the best option if I had to choose." She cupped the side of his face, "Even though you told me you cant be yourself around me, I just feel like we are different people around different people you know. You've been alone throughout your life, you wouldn't know what sharing a life feels like yet, you just go hard on yourself a lot, you're not half as bad." She leaned forward, he grinned, "So the wife approves huh?" she rolled her eyes running her hand through his hair, "She's halfway there." Her lips crashed onto his again , he took her bottom lip between both his lips and nibbled on it following by running the tip of his tongue on her plump lip, his hands went under her shirt, feeling her soft skin for the first time there, with every touch her skin heated, his fingers brushed against her ribs before moving up, he palmed her handful breasts and she moaned into his mouth, he parted from her lips and pressed soft kisses against her jawline, the pace of which slowed down till he sucked on it, taking his time. She threw her head back and arched her back, pressing into his body further, she could feel his stiff manhood brushing against her, "Oh my god." She gripped his raven hair as he leaned in her neck sucking on the skin below her ear, his hands gripped the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head, parting from her for a second, she threw the shirt to a side, and he moved into brush her messy hair okay, she chuckled, "Should have not worn that."

"Good point." He smirked as he leaned into press his lips to her, she smiled against his lips , her hands ran over his muscly biceps as she pulled his body over him, when her head crashed against the pillow, he pulled away from her, looking at her sparkling hungry eyes, he could just never get enough of her, he felt her press his shoulders, "I like you a lot, I just want to keep liking you."

He grinned at her, his hands ran up her toned stomach, he gazed at her black lace clad breasts and sighed, "How can you be this damn perfect." He whispered as he leaned down and pressed kisses on her collar bone, he trailed down her heaving chest, feeling her small hands move up his shoulders to grip his hair, "Ah Damon!" her body arched forward and her legs looped around his waist, his wet kisses stopped above her heaving chest and he pressed his face to her soft mounds and took a deep breath, he rubbed his face against them in a cat like manner and felt her grip on his tightened, she let out a low moan urging him to continue, his hand traced the strap on her back and unclasped it, he could hear her heart beat as the thin fabric slid from her, he gazed at her body with his hungry eyes and slowly palmed her soft mounds pushing them together, he rubbed her stiff rosy nipples and slowly pinched them, she moaned out his name, she could feel his lips brush against them and a sudden urge to feel his soft lips all over her body passed through her, but she couldn't ask him, she blushed at the thought, "Oh Damon please." She begged feeling his lips slowly brush over her nipple, "Don't play please." She begged again. He nodded his head, taking her nipple into his mouth, his tongue rolled over the peak and his teeth slightly grazed it, a sudden ache rose in the base of her stomach and she threw back her head, he pulled away to her displeasure and took off his shirt, tossing it back, she let out a sigh of appreciation and ran her hands over his contoured chest, "Ah let me-" she bit down on her lip and touched his chest from his biceps to his shoulder, down his chest. She leaned up and pressed her lips to his jaw line, her lips continued to place kisses against his neck, he purred at her attention as she licked and sucked at the skin of his shoulder, "Mm Damon."

"Yeah." He said lost in the attention she gave him, "Phone." She murmured giving him a peck on his shoulder, he let out an exasperated sigh and reached to the phone on the nightstand, "I have to take this." He patted her cheek and got up to walk to the window, "Butorin, I assume it's something as important as your decision."

He heard the grave voice on the other hand, "Something has been brought to my attention Damon, you claim to want to work with the brotherhood, but I don't think you can handle spreading your bases when you hardly have your house secured."

"I don't have time for your puzzles." He said in a snarky voice, he turned to see Elena was not in the room, probably the bathroom- good , he could talk.

"All these years Damon, and you can't seem to get rid of Klaus and his brothers- what have I taught you, never do business with a person who tried to eliminate you before." He spat, "Yet you did, good for you, but you never thought Gray would ever come in to the picture, you had to cut ties with Klaus, doesn't mean he would with you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your house, Kol has someone planted there, Klaus and Kol know whatever you do, whatever your little family does." He said in a concerning voice, "That girl- Gray's daughter, Kol is infatuated with her and that's not good news, you keep your rule intact over everyone and around but do you even know what's going on in your own house, and you want to expand your bases knowing you don't have one thing covered." He said bitterly. Damon clenched his fist, "Do not bring her into this, I have everything covered here, I need your decision not your advice on my marriage and how I should function-"

He interrupted, "But actually you do, unlike you Damon, you ungrateful bastard, I care about someone who I spent two years of my life with, you want to come to finish my empire, be my fucking guest and try but before that, make sure your family is protected."

"My family is protected ,_Avtoritet_. You need to worry about your people because the clock is ticking and you don't have much time left." He shut the phone and let out a sigh, turning back, he could hear the shower on, it was almost morning now. After a while he too went inside the bathroom and saw her standing in front of the mirror in a towel, "Hey you're back." She smiled. He too gave her a smile before walking over and turning on the water in the bath tub at the slight periphery of the bathroom, "I am sorry you didn't even got a little sleep." She said sheepishly and let her hair out of the towel, "So when are you leaving?"

"Hmm I don't know in an hour maybe." He said absently. She left the bathroom and he took the chance, taking off his pants and got into the bubbly, soapy tub water. His body relaxed in the hot tub water and he just threw his head back giving himself a rest, his family wasn't secure? He had everything covered, he knew he had, but a nasty feeling kept growing in him, the old man didn't sound like he wanted to mess with him, rather concerning- but Damon couldn't understand that- why did that man cared about him? Shouldn't he be happy that Klaus will get Damon out of his way. A knock interrupted his train of thoughts and he raised his head up to see Elena standing against the door , in her little white towel, "Hey you okay?"

"Yeah, all well." He raised his hands a little with a lazy grin. She walked across the tub to stand at the back, "let me help you."

He threw back his head to look at her , "Join me." he suggested. She nodded as he moved forward a bit she untucked the towel from herself, she wore a white see through bralette with matching panties, to which his jaw dropped she chuckled settling behind him, wrapping her arms around his chest, "So tell me." she said resting her face against his shoulder.

"What?"

"Anything- tell me about yourself." She said reaching for a blue bath sponge on the side, she slid it down his arm slowly, then shifting the gentle massage to his chest.

"There's not much to know about me actually." He laughed lightly, "Nothing too interesting."

She rolled her eyes, "I don't want you to entertain me, just tell me things you haven't told me yet, like your first memory, or something you like."

"Ah- my first memory." He looked up as if thinking, "I think it'd be this woman, she had long hair, and she would chase me, around this place, this house in the Naples. "

"Mm could be your Mom."

"Could be Zach's girlfriend." He shrugged, "He was my uncle."

"Huh." She said splashing his chest with soapy water and continuing, "He wasn't a nice man." Damon said in a voice above a whisper, "I don't remember much, it's just a little feeling of me not being happy, he'd push us a lot and he'd make us make him drinks." He laughed a little, "He was an asshole to us, I think- because when he died, I was actually happy."

"How did he die." She asked in a low voice , letting her legs loop around his body. "Uhh Well he was involved with this gang in Naples and he owed them a ton of money he wasted on liquor , he wouldn't pay it back so they came by one day and shot him in the throat and took Stef and I for labor to compensate." He said in a calm voice, "And then I met Padrino Vito from them and started working for him."

"Oh." She didn't know how he didn't feel bad for himself because she did , a little- if his parents were alive, they weren't good parents. "Aren't you mad at Zach?"

"I don't know." He sighed, "Maybe I am, I don't like to think about him." He confessed, "If he wouldn't be such an asshole, maybe Stef and I could actually get an education and a nice upbringing, be one of those restaurant owners in Milan."

"And maybe I'd come visit Milan one day." she suggested playfully, "And come around your " L'oro di Napoli" restaurant. Caroline and I would order a glutton filled meal and maybe somehow I'd see you there."

He tilted his face to a side to see her face, "And I'd just freeze in my place seeing such a beautiful girl enter my world, I'd prepare that meal for you and serve you with it."

She giggled, "I'll tell you to be less corny and ask you on a date."

"You'd ask me on a date?" he raised a brow. She nodded with a cheeky grin, "Yeah I would , I am a little confident in this alternative universe thing we are doing." She laughed, "okay then I'd take you out on a date." She pressed her finger against his shoulder, "Umm we can take a road trip from Milan to Venice, it takes about uhh."

"Three hours."

"Yes like we'll pass Verona so we can stop for lunch." She giggled, "And be in Venice near the famous sunset." She sad dramatically , "So we can take a boat, and see the great Canal and don't worry, I have fruits and champagne this time."

"Okay okay." He laughed at her furrowed brows.

"And you know, when the sunsets, we'd be together, there and probably like this." She rested her head on his shoulder, "And then we kiss." She smiled sweetly at him. He leaned forward and caught her lips in a searing kiss, she moaned into his mouth as he pushed his tongue inside in between her lips to dance with hers, before he could move her on top of him, she splashed his face with soapy water and he pulled away from her, wide eyed, "You can never win this game woman, if I weren't busy today-"

"Then don't be busy." She bit her lower lip, "Stay home." She leaned in and kissed his cheek, "We didn't even come back to Milan yet." She chuckled pressing her lips to his wet cheek, he grinned, "You're busy I am busy- we can come back to Milan some other time."

She sighed and let him go, "Thanks for that flower yesterday, I really liked it."

He raised a brow, "What flower?"

She stood up and reached for a towel pressing it on his shoulders, "That white rose, did you read my diary or something and found out that I liked that color-" she blushed rubbing the towel lightly against his wet hair, "Anyways I liked it." She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his temple getting out of the tub.

That nasty feeling. He knew why.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

"That son of a bitch comes into my room, is next to my wife- leaves her a damn rose and you know nothing?" He held Maxim by the collar, who was head of the security at the mansion.

"We checked the cameras sir , no one came into the room."

"So how the fuck did he leave her that." He pushed the guy away and Stefan who was standing back against the basement training area door came forward, "I just cant believe the bullshit that we are tolerating right now, I know that this motherfucker is involved. " he held the sleeve of the man's shirt and held him up, "Who the fuck pays you Maxim, do not think that we wont fucking kill you." He growled.

"I swear I don't know." He cried and stayed on his knees, "Please Sir, I haven't been disloyal to my job."

"Then maybe they are just too smart for you Maxim, you aren't working too efficiently." Damon shook his head and patted the top of his ginger head , "This carelessness has upset me, this behavior means that my system is weak and I cant worry about other things if I have to worry about my house not being safe, my wife not being safe." He gripped his chin and held it up, the man shivered as he knew what was about to come, Damon's icy blue orbs bored into the man's bloodshot eyes, "Stefan." He said above a whisper.

The man clenched his eyes close , shuddering, "I am sorry boss, I am sorry. K-Kol Michaelson, he threatened me , he said he'd kill me, I had no choice boss- he said he just needed to see , he wasn't in the room more than half an hour, I swear."

Damon felt his fists clenching at his side, he looked at Stefan and he nodded shooting him straight in the head. The man dropped to his side. Damon huffed walking to the door, "Kol Michaelson was in the same room as Elena for half an hour."

"Damon look calm down." He immediately saw the crazy in his brother's eyes. "Sergei knew about it, and we were here thinking that we had everything covered here." He shook his head, Damon looked at him, "What the fuck is going on? I have this half-assed man coming here without you and me knowing and he spends a half hour in my bed room. Elena doesn't know about it, he leaves her a bloody flower." He clenched his fist.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

"Elena you keep this in focus." Tyler explained, "This thirty degree angle part stays the main focus, you should have an imaginary line in your head- right here." He put a dot on the page. "The rest seventy degree stays out of focus with little shading and little precision of the lines."

"Ahuh." She pursed her lips, "It's giving a little vignette type of vibe."

"That's what we are going for." He explained as he drew on the 30 degree window, Elena yawned sitting back a little, "God I am tired."

"You wanna take a break." he asked. "Maybe, but I want to finish fast, Damon is going to be home soon and we have our evening planned." She said with a hint of a smile, "So I just want to-"

"Elena did you work on your assignment?"

"I did a little bit actually." She blushed, "But I haven't completed it yet. I want to make it into a painting."

"That sounds amazing, let me know when you're done." He smiled at her in a warm way and she fidgeted uncomfortably , moving to grab her pencil, " I will, by the way Tyler umm my Dad is coming over so Damon said we'll throw a little reception for people who couldn't attend our wedding, I'd really like you to come."

He grinned shaking his head, "Nah that's a little too formal for me."

She huffed, "Please, I really want you to meet someone." She said in a playful manner. Before she could say anything the door got knocked at and Bonnie entered getting their attention, "Elena, it's Caroline."

(-HMHMHMHM-)

"Just breathe Care." Elena told her giving her water , the blonde rocked back and forth in her bed, "I've vomited my guts out today Lena, I am not okay, I feel as if something is wrong." She cried.

"Yeah Care it's morning sickness." Elena pat her back.

"But shouldn't it be in the morning only, It's almost evening and I am hungry but I am nauseated." She sobbed, "And I feel constant pain in my abdomen, I need to go to the doctor."

"We cant , we can call Doctor Fell here." Bonnie suggested, " Mr.Salvatore has strictly ordered to stay inside the house and that too today."

"But that woman is going to take an hour to get here." The blonde bit her lip, "Can we please just go to a near hospital."

"Care please calm down." She cupped her face, "It's going to be fine."

"No- no Elena i-" she covered her mouth and got up, ran to the bathroom and vomited in the toilet bowl, "Arghh." She got done and pulled back with a groan. Elena was holding her hair away from her face, "Care."

Caroline broke into sobs, pulling away from the toilet bowl and wrapped her arms around Elena's legs, "I don't feel so good, what if I lose the baby."

"Shh don't say that." She patted her head and sighed, "Okay we'll go to the hospital."

"But Elena , Mr.Salvatore ."

"I'll handle him." She assured as she helped Caroline get up, "Come on get dressed so we can get going. Bonnie , please get her case file."

(-HMHMHMHMHMHM-)

"It's going to be okay." Elena assured with a smile as she held her hand, Caroline was squirming on the bed , touching her abdomen, "The pain is fading but I feel so much prickling going on in my stomach."

"They've run some tests, I am sure it's just one of those bad days." Bonnie patted her shoulder in comfort but she turned to a side on her bed, "I hope."

Bonnie stayed with her while Elena went out to get them water from the cafeteria, "Chad can you get us two water bottles and maybe some apple juice in case Caroline wants it." The bulky man with brown hair nodded and went the other way.

"Mrs. Salvatore." Doctor Shane interrupted her as she was about to go back, "Ahuh."

"Can I have a word with you, we got some quick test results like you asked."

She nodded following him to his cabin, telling the one guard to stay outside Caroline's room.

"Yes." She said as she sat on the chair in front of Shane's table, "We're predicting a case of Preeclampsia. It's a young pregnancy we have here and the situation doesn't look too good."

"What do you mean?" she asked worriedly

"Her blood pressure is very high, although she has no high blood pressure history. Thing is we cant do anything but wait."

"Wait for what?" she asked with a frown, "Wait for the delivery, this is going to be a bit complicated, we're going to try and keep her un stressed and ease on protein a bit, switch it up and make it favorable to reduce the pain, her advantage is that she is thin, and thus it's normally very complicated in obese women, but to decide of the survival is still hard of the baby and your friend, that's what the delivery will decide." He said with pursed lips, she bit her lip, "Oh my God."

"Please know that we'll try our best, but it's really not up to us much. Often mothers face this late in pregnancies but in Miss Forbes case it's way too early, It's not too hopeful yet I feel if we make conditions favorable we can hope for a successful delivery." He sighed. Elena felt like she was frozen in place, Caroline was in danger and they could do nothing, her best friend would be going through this pain all alone for the next eight and a half months.

She didn't know when she got up and made it out of the room, she was just walking straight ahead to Caroline's room when their was a pinch on her neck, all of a sudden everything started dissolving into oblivion, she tried to focus and all she could feel was a sting on her neck, the only sound she heard was herself falling on the floor before everything went black.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

There was a voice in the distance, talking- the voice grave, loud, scary. She swallowed thick trying to open her eyes, everything was just too much too heavy, when she opened her eyes a lot of light rushed before things started to get dark, "Huh." This was a room, a small room, there were shelves and shelves everywhere with bottles, IVs- it looked like a store room almost, "Who are you?" she asked in a groggy voice from the man standing in front of her who had stopped talking on the phone, he shut it like answering her was everything important right now, "Hello Elena, finally we meet. I am Klaus, Klaus Michaelson."

Her eyes widened , of course she knew she had seen him, when she tried to move, her arms felt tied at her back and she cried, "Let me go!"

"Shhh." He said with a wicked smile as he sat down next to her, taking out his gun, "Just shh." He grinned as he ran the muzzle of the gun on the popping nerve in her forehead, "Elena I have no interest what so ever in hurting you , no." he sat back, "But my stupid brother and of course your deranged husband, finally your father Grayson, I don't like them, the whole lot."

"What do you want?" She shivered looking into his crazy eyes, "My brother separated his business from me, why? He is infatuated with Elena Gilbert, that bloody Italian trash thinks he can outdo me, and your father." He chuckled, "Oh God I'd love to see Grayson's face when he finds you dead."

She shivered, "Please."

He gripped the back of her hair and pushed her forward against a shelf, a shriek left her mouth and she fell back on the floor , dizzy. Another man entered the room and took Klaus by the sleeve, "What did you do Niklaus, how are we suppose to threaten either of them if she's dead."

Klaus rolled his eyes taking out a cigarette from his pocket, "Relax, she passed out, when are they going to hurry so we can get out of this place, if it weren't me seeing her here-"

"I've called them, we need to sneak through the security, I've told a nurse to get her some clothes so it looks like we're moving a patient out." The man said in a calm voice.

Elena could hear their conversation, but she wouldn't dare move right now, where were they going to take her, she couldn't let them take her this way ,she had to get out.

A woman entered the room after a while and Klaus and the man moved in front of her till she said quickly, "I brought the clothes."

"Niklaus, we'll let her change Gilbert, we can go outside, check if all's clear." He said looking at the nurse for a brief moment.

"Come on." The man said in a hurry and they both went out, Elena didn't open her eyes as the woman sat by her side and undid her restraints, this was her chance, Elena thought as she let her loose hand search for something and could grab onto a small glass bottle, she clutched her hand around It but before she could hit the woman , the woman shook her, taking the bottle from her, "Elena."

"Bonnie!" she almost shrieked but the girl pushed her palm against Elena's mouth, "Shhh, come on , let's get out of here."

"But how, they are right outside." Elena bit her lower lip.

Bonnie nodded getting her up on her feet as she pulled out a gun from her skirt, "Nothing to worry about Lena, just follow me."

They sneaked towards the door slowly and Elena gasped seeing two me in front of the door , "Shit."

"Don't worry."

Bonnie moved aside and threw a box on the floor and shrieked , "Ouch!"

Elena didn't know what she was doing till the dark skinned girl pulled Elena behind her as a man entered , she went behind him and snapped his neck, throwing him aside, when the second man entered , Elena yelled as he reached for her but Bonnie flipped him over her back to the front , and with a kick to his neck , he fell down, she sighed , "woof."

Elena watched her jaw dropped as Bonnie grabbed her wrist and went for the door, Klaus and the man were no where in sight as they both nearly ran out the corridor.

(-HMHMHM-)

Elena still couldn't believe she was saved by Bonnie on last minute, Klaus's eyes were imprinted in her mind, Bonnie offered her water and she shook her head, "If it weren't for you, I'd be god knows where."

"Elena honestly this is just good luck I found this on the floor and I knew you're in trouble, I saw Elijah in the reception and I put two and two together." She gestured to the file in Caroline's hand who was sitting silently in the third seat. Elena pursed her lips looking at her friend who hadn't talked much, "Good thing is we are safe." Bonnie broke the silence.

Elena bit her lip as she leaned forward to hold Caroline's arm, "It's going to be fine Care, Doctor says it's nothing to worry over."

"Don't sugar coat it Elena." she said plainly, "I am going to die."

"No Care I am not going to let that happen." She shook her head and looked at Bonnie who too pursed her lips, "Caroline , there's going to be a way, I just know."

She didn't answer much just threw her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, tears ran down her cheeks but they all stayed quiet for now.

When they got home, Bonnie got out of the car first followed by Elena, she helped Caroline out and instantly felt like she needed help because Damon was pacing in front of the front door but had stopped seeing them, when he started walking towards them, she felt like the floor was giving away under her because he was not calm, he looked infuriated. "Where were you?" he growled at her, which made her body tremble and she moved back an inch, Bonnie swallowed thick, " actually-"

"You, I told you to not let them leave!" he shouted at her, "What the fuck is wrong with you Bennett, how dare you not follow my orders?"

"Elena said she'll talk to you." Bonnie choked out the words as he zeroed in on her, and she felt herself trapped between the car and him, her eyes casted downwards and she was shivering, Damon looked at Elena for a moment before turning his attention back to Bonnie, he held her chin with a firm grip and made her look at him, "You will listen to me Bennett , not anyone else, you get that?" he said loudly , she nodded repeatedly, her hands clutching at her sides, "Yes sir."

"I asked you to guard her, you are here to do your fucking job and if you cant do this right, I'll slice you into little pieces so stop fucking around and do your job the right way, if you cant handle her, you are good for nothing." He spat.

"Damon please." Elena interrupted in a soft voice, "It's not her fault, I told her-"

"Inside Elena , NOW." he said without looking at her, she pursed her lips and nodded as she held Caroline's arm, and lead her inside the house , not even daring to give Bonnie an apologetic look.

Elena couldn't believe Damon was this mad, did he find out about Klaus, because it seemed like he did, Stefan was too there near the wall , leaning against a table, talking on the phone, when he saw them , he summed up his call and walked over to them, "Elena, Caroline, what happened, where were you guys?"

"At the hospital." Elena pursed her lips, "Caroline wasn't feeling well."

"Why didn't you call Meredith?" He asked Elena but his eyes scanning Caroline's pale appearance, she looked ready to fall anytime.

"It was kind of an emergency." Elena said as she tried to get Caroline on the stairs and she moaned lightly.

"Hey easy." Stefan says getting ahead and wrapping his arm around her , shifting her weight on his body, "She shouldn't go upstairs , she can stay in my room tonight."

"Stefan." Elena protested but saw her friend nearly falling on the floor and nodded her head, "Okay. I'll follow with her medicines."

Stefan picked her up and the blonde finally gave up her last strength, as she let her head fall against his shoulder. "What did the doctor say?"

Elena didn't know what to say right now, everything seemed to be falling apart, "Said it's a bit complicated , we have to be more careful, it's her first pregnancy so there is some issue with her blood pressure."

"She's going to be okay right?" He asked as he put her on his bed and moved to take off her slides, Elena shrugged, "I don't really know and I don't want to lie Stefan, how about you ask Care if you want to."

He frowned but didn't push it, "Okay." Elena kept the medicines on the night stand, "Night." She said and patted his shoulder, he nodded.

(-HMHMHM-)

Elena was looking at the wound in the mirror, the blood had dried around the tiny bump on her temple and nothing looked too serious, she took a damp cotton and pressed it against her wound as she heard the sound of her name, "Elena." the sound of her husband voice still angry- she perceived as she quickly tried to close the ointment tube and rolled up the cotton pad, he opened the door to the bathroom and frowned seeing her throwing everything away , "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, just putting on-"

He didn't wait for her to finish as he turned her to himself and held her chin making her look up at him, how hadn't this caught his attention, the two bumps near her eyebrow and her temple , the skin swollen and dark. "Baby." He whispered as he touched the wound on her beautiful face, "Who did this?"

Now she got an idea that he didn't know, she bit her lip, "We were at the hospital, someone pushed me."

"Pushed you?" He cupped her face, "You are not hiding something are you?"

She shook her head, "No it was just an accident." She tried to smile, "I am okay I was just worried about Caroline and didn't realize someone just bumped into me."

"But you said someone pushed you." He said in a low voice, her lips parted, "Ah I said that, no I meant-"

"Elena stop lying to me." he brushed her hair back to look at her temple, "This doesn't look like someone bumped into you."

She moved out of his grasp, "It's not a big deal." She tried to hold the ointment tube but he beat her to it, picking it up, he got a Q-tip, "Let me."

She nodded with a sigh.

"You know Elena, if I find out something that you're hiding, I won't spare that Bennett girl- you should know, just in case." He raised his brows at her and she swallowed thick, "Damon if I tell you-"

"Good girl." He grinned.

"You won't be mad at Bonnie, you'll let me talk, I am perfectly fine, see, if Bonnie wouldn't be there, I would probably be-"

"Tell me Elena." he said in a firm voice, no humor on his serious face.

"Klaus attacked us." She bit her lip, bracing herself from his reaction. There was a moment of silence between them, he clutched his hand moving away from her and just when she was about to say something he hit the glass cabinet with a growl. Elena shrieked moving back, "Damon!"

(-HMHMHM-)

Next chapter:

Steroline development, Damon's birthday, Elena in warrior mode! ( That is if I write)

A very long upload but I feel like this story is a flop, it's nice to write but seeing that people wont even review really makes me want to stop writing at all, is this fandom dead or something? I hope not, BTW I've posted a new story (BONNIE AND CLYDE) inspired- Mama I am in love with a criminal

Do check that out. Sorry I deleted my social blade just as fast as I made it because I can't run it at all without feeling sad and angry and more anxious all together. So there's that. I am even tempted to not write Author notes, that's how I anxious I feel. If you like this story, Review and show me some love, I need it right now. if I stopped writing Fics ( Because I am deciding) then I wanna thank Amazingaisha , Jennagilbert7, blue herons, joy lande, hisdelusionalover , scarlet rose, Margie, Damonlover92, coolangel90, imarifirst , mariahaprilmay , tinhineneA , Mouheydoll 4 and anyone I forgot- guest reviewers to be with me while you were.

Review?


	8. No training wheels left for you

She didn't know how she ended up here, middle of the night- in her room alone , her husband had lashed out a few hours ago, gave her the that famous 'you shouldn't have hid this' look and stormed out calling for his brother, her best guess was that he was probably out doing any possible damage to show Klaus that 'he was in charge.' Typical.

She had the staff clean the bathroom from all that glass and sat by the window waiting for an hour at least before she gave up, there was no hope of this revenge being escalated so soon, some how it was his revenge, he should be more angry than her for being nearly kidnapped. The more she thought about it , the more she got frustrated. She never asked to be in that position, she shouldn't have been yelled at for ten minutes straight, was it because she was being polite to him? That's not a nice pay back, she remembered him being much more thoughtful when she snapped back at him, with angry thoughts she went straight to bed and lied down on the satin sheets, what was she up for? Any explanations she'd give would be very directly negated. There was no point as she wouldn't win this fight. Slowly she fell asleep.

Three hours past mid-night the door was closed a bit too hard and though unintentional , it disrupted her sleep, which was already tainted with dreams of Klaus Michaelson pushing her into a dark room for eternity or chasing her in a never ending empty parking lot. Any sounds could have woken her up in that condition. The room was less lit yet from the silhouette she recognized that it was Damon. She didn't sat up in the bed , her head heavy from the dreams, soon the sound of the shower added to those sounds that would refrain her from sleeping now. The wardrobe light was on , maybe he was changing. She sighed as she buried her face into her pillow. When he stepped inside the room to look at him he was already headed to his side of the bed, on seeing her awake, he stopped and walked to her side, "Hey."

She lied on her back with restlessness and greeted him with a tight-lipped expression of displeasure. He cupped the side of her face, his thumb traced over the bump on her temple and she flinched dragging herself away from him, "don't."

"What?" he sat by her side trying to pull her close to himself. "Ghhh I am fine." She said in a snappy voice as he proceeded to not give up and pulled her in his arms . "What did you do?" she asked in a low voice.

"You wanna know?" he raised a brow at her and she nodded, "I guess that's why I asked Damon."

He pursed his lips and let her drop on her pillow, "It's 3 am, I am tired for this ."

She rolled her eyes and asked, "Can you please not once just act like such an alpha male."

"Don't have to, I am the alpha male." He got under the covers and turned to his side, she sat up, "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you, you'd blame it on Bonnie and go kill people near to Klaus Michaelson, in short do everything you want to do, and still act like it's not me who got hurt or even attempted to be murdered like he said."

There was pure silence before he threw up his blanket from his face, "I'd like to see him try."

"I wouldn't." she shrugged- "Because I just did and guess who saved me, Bonnie."

"Because that's her fucking job." He bit out each word and meant it, "You don't mean anything to her."

"Maybe, but neither to you." She said in a low voice as she got up from the bed, he let out a sigh, "Really? Now? How can you say something like that, how can you compare her and me, I do care about you more than she ever will."

"She didn't shout at me till I felt like I have developed an auditory deformity , instead she comforted me." she bit her lip as she wore her slippers and went out of the room, Damon huffed as he got out of bed and left the room following her, "Elena okay listen-hey." He held her elbow turning her around to him, her nose was red and she was definitely pushing back her tears, "Look I didn't think about that."

"What? What didn't you think about? That she must be fine since they killed her mother so she must be familiar with this whole idea of killing and surviving.?"

"No, definitely didn't had those sentences in my head." He held both her arms, "you know how at times I cant control my temper, I am obviously going to be mad, what if Bonnie hadn't save you? Lena you have no idea how sick these people are, you're defenseless and easy to target, too much fragile." He cupped her face and looked into her eyes, "It really annoys me when I am not in control of a specific situation, this all wouldn't have happened if you'd listen to me. There's already a security problem. Huh – look point is in the moment I thought-"

She interrupted, "You thought? You shouted." She held his bandaged wrist, "See, you ran your fist into the glass and yelled at me for not staying in the house despite me telling you over and over that it was a genuine emergency, no one thinks that way Damon, I was hurt and scared and I hid it from you because like I expected you scared me even further."

"Elena." he sighed, "I'm sorry sweetie." He pulled her against his chest and she huffed before giving up, "I am not used to this, even if Dad and Jeremy do all this stuff, I've never been okay with killing- there's never been any charm honestly." She turned her head up to see his face, "I am trying to accept that this is the world I live in okay, but I don't have to love it right? I don't have to support it, I am sorry if that doesn't work for you- you obviously expected something else here."

He shook his head as he pressed his lips to her forehead. They slowly walked back to the room and got in bed, when he turned the lights off she slowly moved to his side, he raised up his arm offering her space, she swallowed thick as she rested her head against his chest and put her arm over his body, he smiled as he put his hand around her. She took a breath of relief feeling a sudden blanket of protection around her. It was peaceful and even though she felt protected and safe- there was an unsettling feeling to it, everyday she was being more emotionally involved with him, he could say anything or do anything but it wouldn't matter the next second, she was constantly finding excuses to be affectionate towards him. Was she falling for him? More than just attraction, his presence was getting necessary to her, she couldn't sleep the whole night and now, just now she was so peaceful, every neurotic portion of her brain was calming down. The way his chest rose up and down rhythmically calmed her down, the mere sound of his breathing warmed her heart.

All those dreams following were like the an overdose of the cough syrup- rainbow filled dreams , colors melting into oblivion, conversations she never had, songs she never heard or heard too long ago, when she opened her heavy lids she wasn't alone in bed like every night since her marriage. She could still feel Damon's skin under her hand. She blinked her eyes as she looked up at him, the curtains were close so a little bit sunlight was illuminating the otherwise dark room but by the looks of it- it wasn't early morning. She lifted her head a little. Damon shook his head , "You need to rest." His eyes still closed and voice very sleepy

"What time is it? She asked in a whispery voice.

"Umm twelve."

"Wait- what?"

"Gh you look adorable when you're not so loud." He wrinkled his nose and she blushed, "You never woke me up."

"You didn't want to wake up, you were very vocal about how you didn't get a good second of sleep till three in the morning." He grinned opening his eyes. She shook her head at him, "And you stayed back because…?"

"Because I realized how much I needed to rest just by hearing your whole protest about it." He chuckled and she smiled resting her head back on his chest, "I am glad."

"Mm about what?" he asked cheekily.

She looked up at him, "I like this- you and I , catching our beauty sleep, in silence and comfort."

He nodded as he moved his face forward and kissed the top of her head, "Let's just hope it continuous this way without interruption from your squealing peers ."

"Caroline." She breathed, "You know-" she sat up a little and he did too to get his arm around her, she smiled at the gesture, "We actually found out, the pregnancy might not be easy."

"What exactly do you mean?" he raised a brow.

"Well the doctor said Caroline has Preeclampsia, it's difficult to save either her or the baby." She pursed her lips and looked down, "She's hopeless about it."

"Oh."

"But the doctor did say it's not totally hopeless , it's just my heart knows it's going to be okay." She looked at him for some sort of hope, he bit his lip, "We'll do everything that needs to be done." He promised and she gave a light smile for his support. She leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek "Thanks."

She got up from the bed and stretched, 'I'll check on her."

(-HMHMHMHMHM-)

Caroline was definitely better than yesterday, according to Bonnie she had her breakfast and didn't puke it out….yet. That was all the reassurance Elena needed, it was a tiny ray of hope and even though Caroline was still very quiet and upset, she and Bonnie were doing everything to cheer her up a bit.

"Sleepless in Seattle sounds good." Bonnie suggested the movie and Elena huffed, "We've watched that way too much."

"Hmm that is a kind of routine."

"Care? What would you recommend?" Elena asked her trying to get her to speak, Caroline sighed, "I really don't care."

Before Elena could convince her Stefan walked into the living room, "Hey sorry for the random party crashing but I finally found an opened store with twelve different frozen yogurt flavors." He put a big tray on the table, "Like you craved." He gave Caroline an eyebrow raise and mouthed to Elena, "Quarter of the child support."

"I didn't crave it, you said what's not making me vomit and I said Yogurt." Caroline explained in a plain voice.

"Yes but then you said one spoon each from twelve different flavors so." He grinned as he sat on the sofa pretending to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

Caroline picked up a cup and opened it, "Thanks."

Stefan threw his fist in the air, "Finally."

Caroline sat back on the sofa, "Meredith is coming for a follow up check up, are you staying here for it." He nodded in all seriousness, "Of course , I am not working today, we were on mission Michaelson last night, got some-"

Elena interrupted, "Can you not talk about gruesome details?"

"Sure." He sat back, "So what did you get for him?"

"For who?" Elena asked frowning.

"Damon, I got him a cigar case last year, it's been sitting in the useless stuff my brother gave me box so I just got him a Dalmore scotch." He rubbed his hands together.

"Oh yeah it's Boss's birthday." Bonnie added.

"W-what? I didn't know that." Elena interrupted, "I didn't get him anything."

"O-oh." Stefan looked at Caroline , "Look I have an idea, DIY a gift- it's meaningful."

Caroline nodded, "Yeah paint his coffee mug, 'world's best dad.'"

"urghh guys real ideas." She said in a loud voice.

"Look you can cook him something, you do know what they say- the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." He winked and Elena actually thought about it, "Damon likes roast- he told me he likes it."

"Sounds about right." Bonnie said in a less enthusiastic tone, Damon had been ballistic towards her the day before and even though she understood why, it had ruined her mood for the week, Elena got up the couch, "Okay so Damon's upstairs sleeping, I can make him birthday lunch, anyone who wants to help a lady?"

"Best of luck gorgeous." Stefan said in a fake cheery voice, she rolled her eyes at him and went towards the kitchen dismissing the staff, she wanted to do something on her own for once.

Stefan watched Caroline finish a cup and sit back, "Legally blonde, that sounds good."

"Yeah we can watch that." Bonnie picked up the remote, Stefan gave a tight lipped smile, "Hey I wanted to talk to you, about-"

"Stefan I don't want to talk about it." She snapped, "Look you wanna know something- maybe this baby isn't going to survive, maybe I am not going to either, that's all you have to know." She said as she picked up another cup, Stefan's jaw dropped at her sentence, he looked towards Bonnie , who got up, "I'll give you guys some privacy."

"Please don't." Caroline said plainly as she tore the top of the cup off and Bonnie still walked out of the room, Stefan got up his set and sat next to her, "What is this about?"

She stomped the cup on the glass, "The doctor said I have preeclampsia , high blood pressure and unsuitable conditions for my baby which will eventually lead to death by the later months, yes he didn't sugarcoat it for me."

"I-ah Care." He said making his voice concerning, "Oh God, I am so sorry." He opened his mouth to say more but couldn't , he just pulled her into his arms, against his chest, "Everything is going to be okay."

"Elena says she just knows it'll be fine." She chuckled, "But you know Stefan? I feel like there's no hope anymore, I just want my baby to be okay as absurd as it sounds."

"No-"

"I don't even know my baby and suddenly this life means so much more than my own." She looked up at him, "If my baby survives and I don't , I want you to take care of it okay?"

"Damn it Care, I suck at this, I just started thinking about being a dad and now you're so positive about not being with us through this? Look just don't think about this crap- you and I will be there to welcome this baby and love it an try to make it a good person." He parted from her and cupped her face, she smiled a little at his stubborn tone, "but if in case."

"Nope." He said with a popping 'p' , she chuckled , "Look hear me out, if I don't make it, you'll take care of the baby and if that doesn't work out with your life style , give it to Elena."

"Elena?"

"She's my best friend, I trust her more than anyone and I know she won't disappoint me."

Stefan sighed but nodded as he pressed his lips to her forehead. Damon walked downstairs and raised his brows at them, "Morning love birds."

They moved away from each other and Stefan picked up the remote, "They're watching chick flicks and by the way it's four o clock in the evening so Buonasera."

He waved them off as he sat on the sofa, "Happy birthday brother."

Damon wrinkled his nose, "Arghh you make me feel like I am a fourteen year old virgin."

Stefan grinned as he looked at Caroline then him, "Care here wants to put you and your wife as our baby's godparents."

"I just said Elena." Caroline snapped.

"What?" Damon frowned, "I am offended- I am far more better option as a god parent than the MRs can ever be."

"What are you talking about? Elena is soft and artistic and she's a perfect home-maker." Stefan pursed his lips.

"Hey you smell that?" Damon sniffed and his eyes widened, "Something's burning."

"Elena was just in the kitchen." Stefan waved it off and Damon got up his seat, "Why would you let her cook God damn it." He went towards the kitchen and when he opened the dual door he was surprised as there were full flames blazing around, Elena was in a corner throwing a glass of water on the burning curtain, the oven was wide open, black smoke emitting it , Damon looked around, "Stefan get the fire extinguisher." He got inside and the staff followed with fire extinguisher. He pulled Elena towards him and took the glass from her, "What are you doing?" his voice loud.

"The temperature on that thing just messed up Damon." She said in a rushed tone, "I swear I just went to cut some salad and it blew."

"God Elena can you spend a day without messing up?" he huffed as he brought her back to the living room. Sauce was all over her face and her hair were messed up, "I was just making you a roast for your birthday."

"for the love of God woman do not go to the kitchen – ever." He spat, "You should have gotten out the second you saw that thing blow up."

"Yeah I thought I could handle it, I knew you'd be mad."

"It could have spread in the house and burn us all alive , are you listening?"

She got up and groaned, "I was trying to make this special for you well screw me for that." She fired back. There was complete silence in the living room and she huffed, "I am going to my room." Damon gave up his hands in surrender as he went towards the kitchen, "Put a fucking extinguisher in there." He spat orders at one of the men from the staff.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

Elena blow dried her hair and went towards the wardrobe, picking up a purple sundress and wore it after thinking about it for a while, she wanted to talk to Bonnie and maybe they all could watch a movie and ignore whatever had happened yesterday, every time she was alone, Klaus's eyes kept flashing in front of her, he truly looked like he wanted to end her, the way he mercilessly shoved her into the shelf , she touched the bump on her temple and hissed, and felt his fingers clutching her hair, "Huh." She turned around from the wardrobe and felt air rush behind her, she ran out the wardrobe with a beating heart, Klaus was haunting her- she saw Damon sitting by the window, "Hey."

She let out a breath of relief, "I thought someone else was here." She looked back at the bathroom then at him, he got up and walked towards her, "I am sorry for saying you messed up."

"It's okay, I did- I can't cook and I can't handle going outside, you were right about it." She bit her lip, "I can't spend a day not messing up."

He sighed as he held her arms, "You can stop now, look lately it's just that I am worried and you're being a trouble magnet."

She remembered how she zoned out in the kitchen thinking about Klaus, she didn't know till everything was up in flames.

"I appreciate the gesture anyway, thank you for that honey, even though we have to re-model the kitchen." He grinned at her, she pursed her lips from smiling and went towards the mirror, "I also ordered a cake because the oven was too busy and now there's no oven."

"Oh."

"It's chocolate."

"I like chocolate." He walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist slowly, she took a deep breath as picked up a perfume and sprayed it on her, he rested his chin on her shoulder, "I am sorry for sounding condescending earlier and insensitive last night Elena, my intention isn't to prove myself the alpha male, it's just for everyone's best interest- I know that I am not the husband you expected."

"first of all I didn't expect a husband at all." She looked at him in the mirror, "Secondly I know this is your personality, I can't change it but can I at least expect you to be calmer in some situations Damon."

"I'll try." He pecked her jaw line and she blushed , "Damon." She sighed holding his arms, "We need to talk."

"About what?" he asked as he nuzzled her neck , she swallowed thick as he pressed a kiss on her collar bone, "Us- this." She moved out of his arms and stood in front of him, "It's going to be two months to our marriage soon- I like to be with you." She smiled sweetly, "I am not a coward Damon, I can't hide my feelings for you. I know beneath this- you are the man that I've always yearned for."

He looked at her without blinking, she sighed, "I know I want to give my self to you but before that I have some terms."

He frowned, "Terms?"

"Yes, look uh." She put her hands on his shoulder, "If we go as far as having sex, you have to use protection or I can get on the pill before we start having sex."

He looked at her clueless now, she bit her lower lip, "Right now is not ideal for us to have kids, I am studying and you're always busy as well in your thing."

"Wow Elena you've organized the sex without even making sure to check in with me."

She shrug, "If you put it that way, yes I've organized it- is it wrong if I want to enjoy my marriage before having kids, or just have a chance to understand us and this." She bit the inside of her cheek, "This life of yours Damon." She pursed her lips looking away from his face, "I need time and energy to muster enough courage, I cant protect myself from Klaus , what about kids? I can't just have kids without looking around, there's danger everywhere, he looked into my eyes and so easily just said that he will kill me just to see my father's reaction and to piss you off. What if I bring a baby into this world and that's the center of my universe and some man just takes him and kills him for the sake of boosting his ego, I cant."

She had fear on her face at the thought as she walked towards the window, "I know you can protect yourself, so I allow myself to feel for you, i let my guard down because I want to be in love with you."

He swallowed thick, she wanted to be in love with him? Surely they were getting cozy around each other lately but he didn't expect her to be so blunt about it, he did notice her being very soft with him, he'd wait to get home to her, look at her, listen to her soft sweet voice talk about stupid things, he adored her antics- he liked her recent attention, their conversations, sleeping close to each other, like this morning, for the first time in his life- he didn't want to get out of bed, he loved her tiny arms around him, her body clinging to him like that, when Elena wanted she'd put a wall like distance between them but being close was far more better than that, hell he didn't want space- he loved the warmth and sweetness that surrounded her. He could use some of that in that chase, kill, erase life of his.

"Damon." She said his name softly as she turned around against the window, "say something."

"You're right Elena- I know you're not ready for this, I understand that you don't want to have kids while Klaus is around but you know what? there's always going to be some Kol and Klaus because this is my life. I am a criminal. " he took a step towards her and held her hand in his, "But know something Elena, I'll never let anyone hurt you." He tipped her chin up, "And our kids, you don't have to worry, just stay with me, I'll never let that Klaus Michaelson near you ever if that's what worries you baby. If he thinks he's going to piss me off by hurting you, he doesn't know how deranged the thought alone makes me." he cupped her face and pressed light kisses on her face, she shook her head and giggled, "I just wanted to let you know that I am ready."

"Lena." He grinned, "It is my birthday-" his fingers ran down her sides, she pulled away from him, "Right I better get you your cake."

"Come on." He huffed as she rushed out of the room.

(-HMHMHMHMHM-)

Last night was an unexpected party, after the cake arrived, she called everyone in the back garden and as cheesy as it was for him, she made him cut the cake, Stefan had played some music and then Elena suggested they all dance, Caroline was way too done at that point but on persistent insistence she agreed on a dance with Stefan. Damon was looking around the garden lost in thought when she scraped the frosting from top of the cake using her finger and smeared it on his cheek, he moved back, "What the-"

She giggled, "Hmm now you're sweet." He wiped the area with a tissue

"You're pushing it." He narrowed his eyes at her, "I will take revenge and trust me it'll be a lot dirty- smarty."

She rolled her eyes at the new nickname, "So-" she stood up and walked across towards his seat and leant down, "Everyone's here outside I am going upstairs Mr.dangerous, you'd be up there in about ten minutes if you want your revenge."

He held her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles, "I most probably will be upstairs in ten minutes sharp."

She winked at him as she walked back inside, he looked at her swaying hips as she got inside the house. Elena could feel her breath getting shallow, she wanted this, she wanted all of him, she wanted every bit of his affection, she wanted to feel his warm skin, his soft lips, his firm hands, sex was going to be special, they'd be closer, that's what she thought. When she got into the room she quickly went to the wardrobe and dug into some lingerie Caroline and her bought during the shopping for her wedding, She picked out a white lacy lingerie set, it was as bad as well as modest, the bra connected to the full lacy underwear with thin stripes. She brushed her hair and using hairspray made them bouncy on the front, her hair in loose waves by the time she was done, she put on some make up and perfume all over.

(-HMHMHM-)

He smirked as he walked inside the dark room, "Real smooth dark room move, it's okay I am good at this game as well sweetheart."

He felt someone rush behind him, he turned around, "Look the longer you keep me waiting, the longer you get punished for it."

There was a tap on the dresser and he rolled his eyes turning the lights on, "Hey." Her giggle broke through the air and he turned back to see her by the window and his jaw dropped looking at her, she leaned back against the wall, her white lacy one piece was clinging to her body, her hair framing her face perfectly, she walked towards him, "I plead guilty."

His throat was dry, "Too bad, too late."

"Just a little bit of your mercy." She said in a husky voice, he clutched the back of her hair, not too hard and she gasped as he grinned evilly, "I am not entirely in a bad mood though."

"Lucky me." she said softly, her eyes travelling over his features lovingly, he picked her off her feet and she giggled as he walked towards the bed, he put her down on the bed and crawled on top of her, "You look breath taking Elena , every time I think you cant be more beautiful you prove me wrong." He cupped the side of her face, her arms circled his neck, "I am just happy." She smiled as she slowly pressed her lips to his and moaned opening her mouth for him instantly, she loved how soft his lips were, how sensual his tongue was, she gripped his hair as his tongue danced with hers, he slowly sucked on it, then her lower lip, slowly nibbled, then sucked on it again, his lips trailed kisses down her neck , her breathing picked up as his hands clutched the lacy material in his hands and tore it off her chest, her cheeks were red as she held his hands and put it on her heaving breasts, he moaned at the softness of her skin and leaned down pulling an erect nipple to his warm mouth, "Ahhhh yesss." He parted his lips from her nipple and rolled his tongue around it, she clutched his hair tightly, he turned his attention to her other nipple and he moaned pulling it into his mouth, she threw her head back, moving it from side to side, "Oh love! Ahh Damon- love." He parted looking up at her, he crawled up her body and pulled her lips in a searing kiss, she hummed into the kiss, arching her back , her hands pulling his shirt apart, she managed to tear it in half and pulled away from his lips, her hands traced on his chest up and down as she placed kisses on his neck, she sat up slowly pushing him on his back and straddled him, her fingers laced with his as she kissed him hard on the lips, she circled her tongue around his, poked it before licking on his bottom lip and biting it . he hissed when she pulled away and started pressing kisses down his chest, "Damon oh- I want you, so fucking much baby." She stopped at the top his pants and looked at him, "Tell me if I don't do it right okay?"

"Lena." He sighed throwing his head back into the pillow when she unbuckled him and unzipped his pants, he lifted himself to help her move it and she swallowed thick looking at his glistening cock, her mouth watered oddly and she leaned down as she gripped the length in her hands, he groaned, she couldn't wait to see his reaction when she'd use her mouth on him, she licked her lips pumping him in both her hands and watching it grow stiff and hard, her pupil's dilated and focused, as she slowly circled her lips around the twitching head and sucked, it didn't felt disgusting – she knew she was deep in this moment because she did like the taste, it was different. He let out a moan feeling her lips on him, never in his life did he know he'd have her beautiful luscious lips around his cock, one of his hand pat the top of her head lovingly , she looked up at him and he nodded, "Keep g-going baby."

She loved his shaky voice , she loved the way he was desperate for her right now, she engulfed him further taking half his length in her mouth , and pumped the rest with her hands, the more she felt it hit the back of her throat, the more it filled her mouth, the more she liked it, she liked this submissive activity and listening to his erratic breathing continued, he slowly moved his hips against her, his hand clutched tighter in her hair, "Fuck- yeah, Damn it!, I l-love it, shit- perfect baby." She knew that he was going to reach climax by his tone and how tight his hand was in her hair, she sucked harder and slid the length out, she sucked on the tip and engulfed the length again, everything just felt perfect right now, she loved every second of his pleasure and hummed around his length, he groaned as he came down her throat, she felt her throat coated by the hot liquid and swallowed it as she slowly slid his cock out of her mouth, her panties were wet by now, she rolled off him, "Damon get the-"

"Yeah don't worry about it." He let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his forehead, this was something he didn't like, he wanted her to carry his children , he didn't want her to be scared of Klaus and never want to start a family like he wanted, he didn't have a proper family and he wanted one. He wanted to be with this woman forever and he didn't like the idea of just sex. He however rolled on a condom and climbed back on the bed, she swallowed thick, "Just slow for now."

"Trust me princess, I won't hurt you." He pulled off her underwear and widened her legs, he licked at the nectar on the inside of her thighs and parted them further, she cried in a low voice as he slid a finger inside her, her tight walls clenched it and he groaned adding another one, when he slowly moved them inside her she gripped his shoulders harder, "Ahhh oh that oh- Damon." She moaned getting used to his fingers, he widened her fingers inside her, stretching her and she gasped closing her thighs , he kept them apart, "Trust me baby." He leant down and pressed a kiss against her lips, she was distracted for now as he moved his fingers inside her, she pulled away from his kisses after a while, " Huh,Okay- I am ready."

He nodded as he pulled his fingers out of her, they glistened in her juice and he licked at them, her eyes went dark and she licked at her lips, "Come on, I want you inside me." his eyes bored into hers as he widened her thighs and position himself between them, "You're going to hurt sweetheart but just this time I swear."

"I know- I know, I need you Damon, don't worry, I'll be okay."

He cupped her face and crashed his lips against her, then pulled away, holding both her hands, she bit her lip in anticipation, the tip of his cock pressed against her folds and she arched herself, he pushed his length inside her and kept looking at his face, she knew he was about to break through it, when he pushed through the barrier, a lot of pain shot through her body and she cried, scratching his hands with her nails, "Ohh Damon this hurts!" she cried, tears started rolling down her cheeks and he looked at her in a regretful manner, "Baby calm down, I'll stop if you want me to." He could never, her walls were clenching him in a tough grip.

His forehead fell against hers as she shook her head slowly, "No urghh don't move okay." She bit her lip as tears rolled down her cheeks, he kissed her forehead and her nose, "Shhh don't cry." She took a moment or two adjusting to his length, soon she experimented by moving her body against him, it felt ecstatic yet painful, but slowly by the third movement she was starting to feel the pleasure course through her body, she traced her hands up his arms, "You feel that?"

He slowly started to move inside her, every time he slid out and back in, he felt more pleasure, he knew she was feeling that as well, she started to move more eagerly against him meeting him on thrusts, she chanted his name over and over as she reached to heights of pleasure, he lifted her hips and moved inside her on another angle and it made her scream with pleasure, she gripped his arms as she nodded, "Ahhh yes, yes, yes." Her voice raising higher as she let him ravage her. She threw her head back, "Damon, oh- you're perfect Mmm." She brushed her lips against his skin as she leaned in the crook of his neck, she knew she was on the edge, something was taking over her body, she felt like she needed to breath, it was painful yet his thrusts were the only thing making it better and bad at the same time, he felt her clenched walls cutting the circulation in his cock and he groaned, "Come for me baby." He pushed into her harder and she felt fireworks go at the back of her eyes and her body felt like it blew up. Her release triggered his own and he gripped her against himself as he reached climax. She could hear her shallow breaths and he dropped on top of her and they both began steadying their breaths, she ran her hands on his back slowly, "Happy birthday." She whispered into his ear and kissed his temple. He chuckled after a moment and parted himself from her body, she sighed when he got up to discard the protection and then got back into bed and he pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head, she smiled looking up at him and he took her bottom lip in both his and tugged at it, she giggled pulling away from him, "we have our reception over the weekend."

"Yeah I know that." He grinned resting his face on her shoulder, her back pressed against his chest and there was silence, he looped his arms around her tighter, "Elena."

"Hmm." She wasn't asleep just enjoying his presence.

"After the reception, I was thinking we go out somewhere, out of city- the two of us."

She smiled at his velvety tone and turn her face to look at him, "Hmm I smell a honeymoon."

He laughed at her wrinkly nose, "Well yeah- look I was thinking about it for a long time now, since that conversation about Milan." He winked, "So what do you say?"

"We can." She frowned, "But I have terms."

"Terms." He groaned, "Woman with all these terms damn it, might as well bring a lawyer in here."

She turned around in his arms, "Listen to me."

"Yes Professional kill joy."

"Okay number one is that we wont bang all the time."

"Of course sometimes we can make sweet love." He kissed the tip of her nose, she shook her head, "No uh don't do that! We'll travel around and we can also make 'sweet love'."

"ahuh next." He said bored.

She cupped his face, "And you have to make a promise."

"Hmm."

"Promise me you won't 'work' there." She said in a low tone expecting him not to shout or be bugged at the request, "You won't harm anyone while we're out there."

"Elena." he huffed.

"Please baby – it's just for me, this once, I don't want to see it, I cant stand it when you talk about this stuff and when people carry these dead bodies out of our house, I want to make un-tainted memories, I know you think I am stupid but-"

"I never said that, look I know that you think I'll be busy god knows where leaving you on your own, no- I promise , I'll give you maximum time."

She shook her head, "Damon I know it's important, but I want this- a few weeks being with you without weapons or blood or men who are ready to kill around. It's all I ask for." She tilted her head and pressed her warm lips to his, she pressed butterfly kisses on his lips , around his mouth to his jawline, panting in between, "Please promise me."

"Okay- okay." He sighed holding her face, "You are freaking good at this convincing thing."

"Promise me Damon." She bit her lip.

"I promise , no fights or feuds."

"No crime whatsoever."

"No crime whatsoever." He repeated as he pulled her on top of him, his lips immediately found their way on her neck, she threw her head back allowing him to devour her again.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

Reception party episode is going to be FUCKING WILD followed by the BIGGEST HONEYMOON FAIL EVER! MOOHAHAHAHAHA, all will not be well in this marriage

Now like Dora I ask you guys, "WHICH PART DID YOU LIKE?"

I know this chapter was a drag- just something I pushed through a writer's block,

I updated all my stories so check em out, and give me a review God damn it. My laptop is being a bitch so maybe posting would be slow. Doesn't matter I posted it after a month anyway.

REVIEW?!


	9. Tiny section of your affection

A/N: Thank you for being patient with me and this story, I appreciate each and every one of you guys. I love to hear from you guys! Keep it coming.

NOW TO THE CHAPTER.

.

.

.

Elena took a heavy breath as she pulled the comforter on her body and closed her eyes once more to sleep, yet she couldn't find any comfort. She turned to lie on her back and stared at the ceiling with a sigh, she turned her head to see Damon asleep soundly and she felt envious of how easily he could sleep, then again, he wasn't afraid of Klaus like she was. She smiled reaching forward and brushing away the hair from his forehead , he jerked slightly, "Hey, you up?"

"Ahuh." She let her hand rest against his chest, he sighed, "Well I tried my best to exhaust you." She giggled, " Oh no it's not that, I am drained in that department- I just feel odd."

"Odd?" he propped his head up on his elbow, She nodded, "I just constantly feel like something will happen, like someone will come right through that door or window, stuff like that."

"Hmmm. That explains all that shivering and shaking." He grinned at her and slowly let his arm around her, "Someone needs the special."

"Hmm I am spoiled."

He let her rest her head against his shoulder as he brought the blanket up on her, "Maybe but I don't mind that." He kissed her forehead, she smiled, "Hey what's that?"

"What?"

She touched his temple, "You have like two to three silver hair there."

"Guhh you need your eyes checked , I am twenty eight."

"Honey it's right there. Finally!" she chuckled.

"finally? What you await my death or something now woman." He frowned.

She gasped, "No Damon , actually." She blushed, "You're pretty so-"  
"Pretty? I am not pretty, I am dashing, gorgeous – handsome." He started. She rolled her eyes, "That's what I mean, so the gray hair is some flaws, that's what I mean, which by the way honey you carry so good."

"Do i?"

"Ahuh- now that I think about it you look good." She cupped the side of his face, "Why do you get so paranoid about your age."

He shrugged with a little pout, "It's- maybe you are in your twenties, I am out, I've always been busy I am busy, I don't want to feel like I am out of time for life."

"But isn't this life, I mean whatever time we spend together, it's fun, and what if time passes , we have a lot of fun left, like you know old people, we can talk shit about young generation, we can try all those get-rid of wrinkles remedies, and we can dye our hair and play chess, We can skip family events by saying the one word 'hernia' , forget birthdays and get away with it, be assholes and pass it as wisdom, We can pretend not to hear sometimes, like listen to private conversations or generally just avoid Stefan that way." She giggled, "being old is fun."

"Yeah but-"

"You know I think you'll be the ultimate sexy old guy with a fat wife. I will get fat, is that acceptable."

"Sure but since you roll over right on top of me during the night- you should be not fat enough to kill me."

"Arghh damn it- okay , that drops two stones off my target." She huffed, "But the bottom line is, being old is a privilege."

"Okay maybe it will be a little fun since I am the sexy old one." He sighed, she nodded, "With a fat wife you'll be committed to."

"really." He smiled, "That sounds like it isn't going to be a bad time."

"Yeah?" she traced her finger on his chest in circles, "I am looking forward to it too." She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. He cupped her face and rolled her on top of him, when he pulled away he just stared into her eyes, she had never seen so much softness in his features , so much adoration in his eyes, his blue orbs were reflection of love, it made her feel beautiful, loved- she chuckled, "Honey, don't just look at me , do something." She giggled. He smirked and crashed his lips against hers, she moaned against his mouth, he rolled them over, his sweet mouth trailing kisses down her neck , she let her hands feel the softness of his hair, "You're so beautiful sweetheart." He whispered, she giggled feeling him nip at her ear, "Oh Damon." She threw her head back on the pillow, "You make me so crazy."

He slowly kissed his way down to her collarbone, sucking on her supple skin, he loved how her heartbeat was racing, the rushing breath, how her small hands moved on his arms to his back, her legs wrapping around him slowly. She arched her back to press up against him and sighed, "I need you, Please-" He groaned and captured her lips with his again, his tongue slowly moving inside her mouth against hers, Elena groaned hearing the cellphone ring on the nightstand and pulled away, "Turn it off."

He rolled his eyes reaching for his phone, "Baby doll I need to take this."

"Damon, really?"

He got out of bed, her jaw dropped as she sat up angry waiting for him to be done so she could give him a piece of her mind, but when he shut the phone ,he went towards the walk-in wardrobe, she bit down on her lip as she got out of bed , wrapping blankets around herself as she walked there, "What? You're leaving? It's middle of the night."

"Look I am bummed too, but It's really important."

"Important? Cant it wait till five hours? Is it important enough to abandon me in the middle of the night, especially tonight?" she pursed her lips.

He buttoned his shirt and shrugged, "You're making it sound like I do this on purpose."

"Don't you choose what you do and not?" She took a step ahead, "Can you once just-"

"This can be settled once I get back."

"What do you mean? It'll not be settled if you leave, arghhh." She bit her lip, "You win- I can't fight you anymore, because you're never going to understand."

He clenched his hands and walked across her to the exit, she turned around to follow him, "Fine!"

(-HMHMHMHM-)

"He's gone." Enzo commented as they searched the place , "we have Ricardo and he wont spill beans on where Kol went. "

Enzo had found the house in the woods from where Kol had been monitoring their lives- he called Damon as soon as he found the house like he was ordered, Enzo was new in Damon's group but he had been the fastest to earn his trust.

"If he doesn't ,just shoot him, I don't need him."

His men were searching the house , while he was looking at all the documents left on the table, Enzo pursed his lips, "Well Boss there is one more thing."

Damon raised a brow, "What?"

"Downstairs, in the basement, there's like a huge room with Mrs. Salvatore's info and her stuff."

"What do you mean?" Damon frowned as he looked around for the stairs, Enzo directed him, "He is completely sick boss."

Damon went downstairs and once Enzo turned the lights on his eyes widened, large portraits of his wife on all the walls, a huge wall with check points , a map, pinned pictures of her. It was like a shrine, a sick shrine.

A box which was placed on the table, Enzo gestured towards it, "It had some stuff that I think is-" his voice trailed off seeing Damon's glare. He walked up to the box and looked down at it with disgust, the huge box was filled, journals, hair clips, her pictures , a coffee cup, underwear, a perfume. He clenched his fists, "Enzo!"

Enzo walked to him quickly, "Yes boss."

"I want Kol Michaelson, alive in one month and if you can't do it then consider yourself in grave danger." He clutched the box and threw it off the table, "Burn down this fucking house, you get it?"

"Yes sir."

(-HMHMHMHM-)

"So what's up?" Bonnie asked handing her a cup of Coffee sitting on the couch with her, Elena sighed, "I-uh I didn't sleep throughout the night."

"Yeah you look a little pale sweetie." Bonnie frowned as she sipped her own coffee, "And no offense a little off."

"None taken." She sat up straight, "Uh Bonnie remember when Klaus was attempting to kidnap me and you saved me."

"Emm yeah."

"Well I need your help. I want to be able to help myself the next time anything happens and only you can help me." she reached forward and held Bonnie's hand, "I know Damon is there to protect me and all but I don't want to count on it, I need to protect myself."

"That's a good idea Elena, but it'll take a lot of work, you're very- slender and you need to have strength." Bonnie squeezed her hand and Elena nodded, "I know yoga If that helps."

"Yes it definitely helps, but we're talking about strength training here, and precision, you'll need to change all your routines. You'll have to eat more, exercise more."

"Anything Bonnie, I'll do it all if it means I'll be able to handle unfortunate situations." She bit down on her lip.

"So uh, you look a little mad at Boss by the way." Bonnie raised a brow. Elena raised her hand as if stopping her, "I don't wanna get into it."

"Ahuh ,you want to talk to Care?"

She shook her head, "No I was wondering if you'd start training me right away."

"Now?"

"Ahuh, I see why not." She got up, "So what do you want?"

"Push-ups? " Bonnie tested her, she bit down on her lip, "No I am sore, can we do something less stressful like dancing, slow-dancing?"

Bonnie laughed, "You're gonna slow dance your way out of a problem? Wow now that's something you have to teach me."

(-HMHMHMHM-)

Stefan noticed how Damon was zoning out of the conversation over and over, "So what?"

Damon looked up, "Uh we need uh-" he pinched the bridge of his nose thinking , "I don't want to go there, Butorin said it's calming down, the havoc and if it doesn't uh-"

"But you said he's opposing a lot too. Why is he giving tips." Stefan asked for what seemed like the hundredth time. "I feel like we need to earn his trust."

Stefan pouted, "And what does that implicate? Even if let a few places go, he just wants us out completely."

"Look he wont- he's weak and – and-" he trailed off yet again. Looking out the glass door of the sun room. Stefan turned around to see where he was looking and saw Bonnie and Elena, picking out things from a cupboard in the next room.

"And?" Stefan tried to get his attention.

"Ehh- weak and helpless, very fragile, ehh and , and-"

Stefan frowned.

"So precious."

Stefan coughed loudly, Damon blinked away from the glass door back to Stefan, "I meant we have him right where we want him, he's scared of us."

Stefan nodded , "Why don't you go and talk to her already?"

"You don't think I tried, she just looks away, doesn't even talk." He huffed, "We have the freaking reception tomorrow."

"Oh okay, look just get her a gift or something. Something that shines." Stefan sat back, "Why do you care anyway?"

"What do you mean why I care? She's my wife." He got up and rubbed his hands together, "I am gonna go and talk to her."

"Whipped." He muttered. Damon rolled his eyes, "Call up Butorin , I am just gonna handle the Missus."

He walked outside and noticed Bonnie picking out dumbbells from the cupboard, he frowned, "Ehh Lena, sweetheart , can we talk?" he took a step towards her. Bonnie sighed standing up, handing Elena the dumbbells. "Sir , emm Ma'am says that right now she wants you to stay away as far is the sun is from earth."

"That's very specific thank you Bonnie." Elena said and gave him a glare heading the other way, He walked after her, "Elena , look I don't know why you're mad but-"

She turned around with her jaw dropped, "You don't know?"

"Okay I know." He took reluctant steps towards her, she gestured him to follow her and he didn't know how but he wanted to be out of the doghouse for a while. She entered the first room in the corridor and he went inside after her, he stood against the door so she wouldn't leave, "Sometimes you have to understand that things are important."

"Yeah I know sometimes Damon, but sometimes I want to feel like loving me should be a priority to you, or at least replying when I address you should be important." She bit down on her lip, "Sometimes you should say to yourself that an emotional investment in your relationship is important. That I am not a prop in your life."

"Elena I wish I could have handled it differently."

"You always say that Damon, and when the time arrives you just act like I am the stupid one, like I am giving you a tough time, I really don't want to be that wife, but now I am." She shook her head, "From now on you do your own thing, do what you want- but stop expecting any sort of emotional approach from me, I am done being insulted by you this way." Her voice got heavy and he took a step forward, but she stepped back wiping her eyes, "It's okay I got it."

"Baby tell me what to do differently?" he walked to her, holding her by her shoulders, "I promise from now on you call all the shots."

"It's not about that, I don't want to boss you around damn it, I don't want to win, I just want you to value what we have."

"I do value it." He cupped her face, "I can't imagine going on without you, but you know what I am, I have to watch over things, everything can be turned to ashes with the blink of an eye. Now that we're married, I want to make sure you're safe, our house is safe, it's always going to be this way, because I am not a normal man."

"I know, I know but –uh –"

"You're always going to be disappointed if you think this will change one day Elena, i-"

"No Damon shh! I don't want to pressure you." She swallowed thick, "I can't change you but I am okay with that, I am just not okay with the fact that-"

"That?" he asked.

"Uh nothing." She pursed her lips, "It's fine, everything is fine Damon, I have to go, reception preparations and all."

"Elena what is that you wanted to say." He held her wrist pulling her in front of him, she sighed, "How about you leave me alone for a while, you're very good at that aren't you?" she removed his hand from her wrist and walked out.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

She looked at herself one last time in the mirror, a champagne colored dress that hugged her curves the right way, the dress showed a minor cleavage but enough to be termed inappropriate, her hair in waves flowing down to her back, she didn't put on a lot of makeup as the dress itself was all glitter and glimmer. She sprayed on some perfume and headed downstairs, Caroline was standing downstairs in a violet baby doll dress, she rolls her eyes at Caroline, "Way to go, already wearing pregnancy friendly stuff, Care my food belly is bigger than that!"

"I am bloated okay, no arguments!" Caroline picked up a drink from the tray offered to her and Elena moved forward to see if it's not alcohol , "It's orange juice."

"You hate orange juice." Elena raised a brow at her, Caroline shrugged, "Well now I like it."

Before Elena could give her the 'you're not proper pregnant speech of hers' a familiar person approached her, "Jeremy." Elena squealed and helped not to hop into his arms, Jeremy gave her tight hug, "Aww my sweet pea." Jeremy kissed her temple, "How are you doing?"

She grinned parting from him, "better than ever, come on you gotta meet someone." She held his hand and dragged him across the room, "Bon , there's my very handsome brother I told you about."

"God Elena." Jeremy groaned, "I am so sorry my sister tends to embarrass people, it's one of her favorite things to do."

Bonnie was blushing, she waved it off with a laugh, "I can see that, Elena has a match making-"

Elena interrupted, "That reminds me I have to set like fifteen more people."

Bonnie frowned, "Really?"

"No of course not, I am gonna need a drink." She huffed looking around the room filled with people. She had never seen this empty house so filled, She looked around letting Bonnie and Jeremy talk in peace , when her eyes landed on a woman, she knew her well, the black halter dress looked gorgeous on her. Elena walked up to her and faked a smile, "Rose, hey."

"Hello Elena, My, my you look like a dream." She flashed her perfect teeth to Elena, "I am a plus one with Carter." She gestured to a dusty blonde man a few feet away, "The arrangement is beautiful."

"Thank you, I hope you enjoy." Elena turned around but Rose stopped her, "Where is Damon?"

Elena fisted her hand in her dress but smiled, "Uhm he's in his study, Stefan says he needs to escalate some business with a few people."

"Um then I should go say hi, Carter and I will not be attending for long."

"Sure." Elena nodded and turned to get herself a drink.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

"Come in." Damon called without looking up from the papers spread in front of him, "Gray." He looked up but was surprised, "Rose. Good evening- uh I'll be down in a few minutes; I am expecting someone right now."

"I don't think I can't talk about this in front of everyone downstairs." She walked across his desk to stand in front of him, "You never called me."

He shrugged, "I didn't want to Rose, in case you fail to notice I am married." He held the back of his hand up showing the wedding band, she rolled her eyes pushing his hand back down, "God cut the crap, you know she has nothing on me."

He chuckled and sat back watching her amused, "That's harsh." She huffed putting her hands on the arms of his chair and slowly climbed on his lap, "Damon I am sorry but you don't have to be so cold, I miss you."

He let out an exhausted sigh, "I am flattered but I am not interested."

"She can't be me Damon!" she gritted her teeth, "You know that, she doesn't- she wont stick around for long have you seen her?" her voice trailed off as she cupped his face, "I am what you want, there aren't any expectations with me Damon." Her lips a millimeter away from his when the door was heard, they both looked there to see Grayson, he coughed and Rose got off him, Damon stood up, "Gray, I was just expecting to see you."

Rose turned to him, "I'll wait outside."

He didn't respond and rose held her clutch purse and went outside, Grayson shook his head, "I see you're being a perfect husband to my daughter."

"You have bad timing."

"Elena doesn't need to know about this." Grayson took a seat next to the table, "So what is that you want me to do?"

"I have a proposition, since there's a whole problem about the Moscow Base and areas that are connected, I want you to take control on that area from Sergei and we can monitor it together, I've already decided to give some headquarters up to him, we can earn his trust this way so he withdraws his men." Damon forwarded the papers on the table to him, "Here's a contract to make him sign."

"Why should he even trust you Damon, you're going to kill everyone there-"

He rolled his eyes, "Why does everyone think that, why would I want to kill off quarter the population there. You know I have more tabs there than you men ever will. See-"

He pointed to a page, "Your men are informers for the police and the rival parties , the delivery of about four hundred million dollars' worth of ammunition gets sabotaged and is replaced with some stuff that even the kids don't wanna play with, twenty seven girls have gone missing from business ,two of whom are dead, six turned informers and the rest still vanished into thin air, there are intruders and before they ruin us all, we need to work together, I am sending Stefan off to Italy for a few months and I want you to send Jeremy, they'll be safe while controlling business there, and you and I get rid of our top nemesis , the Michaelson brothers."

"What about Elena?"

"Elena goes where I am." Damon got up the chair , "Don't worry about her."

"Right." Grayson muttered , "The second we get this over with Elena-"

Damon held up his hand as if telling Grayson to stop, "Gray I love your daughter okay? This girl means nothing to me."

"Then she shouldn't have been here, if I have to kill for Elena I will, and I swear I see that girl around again or any for that matter , things wont be pleasant." He warned getting up , Damon smirked, "Oh here's that father in law edge I craved from you."

"Watch out."

Damon opened the door for him and he left with a nod, Damon huffed walking outside and grabbed Rose by the elbow , seething, "You, out of here, now!"

She yelped, "Damon! What the fuck? "

"No don't what the fuck me- you wanna hear it? I am not going to screw you behind her back if that's what you think, you think she's not right for me? she expects shit- I fucking love her." he held her chin harshly. He left her and stepped back, "You should leave , I'll tell Stefan to transfer money into your bank account, just don't be around here."

(-HMHMHMHMHM-)

Elena couldn't breathe when she saw Rose coming downstairs , she looked a little disheveled and she grabbed on to that guy she came with, before going Elena felt like Rose smirked at her , Elena downed another drink as she headed for the balcony , she gripped the drink she picked up on the way there and just felt the coldness of the glass against her skin. She felt a tear teasing the corner of her eye as she stared at the sky, it was windy so there were no stars.

"Hey."

She quickly wiped the lone tear hearing Tyler's voice, "hey." She said in a groggy voice, "I thought you were dancing with Care."

"Yeah Stefan Salvatore was glaring way too much to my liking." He chuckled , "He has a thing for that chick."

"Ahuh, I don't think so, they're just friends now."

"So there was something? "he raised a brow, Elena turned her head to him, "use to be."

He became quiet and Elena felt like he'd ask something she wouldn't want to answer by the way he was looking at her, "So you enjoying the party?"

He shrugged, "It's okay, I don't like fancy stuff."

"Yeah you told me." she looked ahead. He sighed, "You look very beautiful."

"Thanks." She smiled his way, "So you're not gonna go inside and enjoy the party?"

"Why don't you?" he asked cheekily, "I mean as I recall you are the star of the party."

"There are no stars tonight." she chuckled gesturing to the sky. He rolled his eyes, "Umm that's not true, as I mentioned before-"

The knock on the glass door made them turn and Elena felt s shiver run down her spine seeing Damon standing there, she gave Tyler a polite nod, "We might need some privacy."

"Sure." He walked out of there as soon as he could and Damon turned his head to see him go before walking outside to her, she grabbed her drink in nervousness, "Hi."

"Hello Disco ball." He gestured to her dress, she shook her head looking back at the sky, "So you don't like the whole bling-bling vibe, what seems good hmm a black halter dress."

He chuckled taking the drink from her hand and took a sip, "How do you get so specific?"

"It's a guess."

"No I actually feel that um-"

"that?" she looked at him.

"You complete your 'that' first." He smirked. She huffed turning around to go, he held her wrist, "God you're so stubborn."

"And you're so confusing, arghh- you make me so- so mad!" she gritted her teeth, he pulled her in front of him, "Can I just say you look so hot when you're mad at me."

She bit down on her lip, "Didn't she give you enough?"

"I didn't need it from her." he looked down at her dress then up at her, "I want you."

She felt speechless , all her words ,he took them right out of her mouth, she stared at him feeling her throat dry, he lead her out of there, he pulled her into a guest room and pushed her up against the door, she placed her hands against his chest, tracing the material of his tux, "I don't want to be needy Damon, I try but it's the happiest if I've been in years, money doesn't concern me." He leaned in her neck, breathing in her fragrance, his hand tangled in her hair, she chuckled, "Umm kiss me." she cooed and let her hands circle his neck, his lips crashed against hers and she moaned when he sucked on her tongue , exploring the inside of her mouth. She helped taking off his coat and let her hands move on his biceps, she whimpered softly when she felt him push her body further against the door with his hard body, she parted for breath and threw her head up when his lips trailed kisses down her mouth to her neck, "Oh Damon." She moaned , "Just don't stop now." He unzipped her dress and helped her out of it, she wasn't even wearing a bra, her finger traced the button strip of his shirt, her lips brushing against his as she tore the shirt open, she ran her hands on his contoured chest and just breathed of relief like she had wanted to do that for centuries, he pulled away from her lips, "I need to be inside you right now." He said firmly , she swallowed thick, "Then take me." he smirked picking her up in his arms, she let her arms circle his neck and when he lowered her on the bed , she pulled him in a kiss, "Don't move." Her hands traced down his chest to his pants, she licked her lips , unbuckling his belt, she un-zipped him, he smirked at her, his hands widening her legs, he loved her long legs, he loved how smooth her skin felt , how silky and supple her skin was, he was touching the top of her thighs, every now and then leaning down to suck on the soft skin, she let out a soundless moan gripping his hair, "Oh my God, please ahh!"

She felt some relief when he tore off her panties, she was so wet for him, he widened her legs further leaning down between her legs, she bit down on her lip, "No, No." her cheeks red at this point, he loved this nervous wreck of his, "You can't stop me, I've been thinking about you all day." His voice heavy and velvety, she felt knots at the base of her stomach as he licked her slick walls, "Mmm-oh , you're so, eh – so good." She moaned. It is heaven , her moans like music to his ears, her movements , her taste, he couldn't get enough, "Baby you have no idea how fucking good you taste."

"Damon, oh don't play, I just need you so bad right now." She pushed her hips against his mouth, he groaned sitting up a little, "Me too sweetheart, I've been thinking about you all day, under me, moaning my name like that."

She swallowed thick as he positioned himself between her legs, she gasped when he slid inside her, she clutched his arms, "Ahh Damon." He started with slow movements which soon became deep and hard. He made her feel she didn't know was humanly possible, his lips pressing hard kisses on her shoulder to her neck as he thrusted in and out of her, "Oh- eh don't ever s-stop." She brushed her lips against his bicep, his fragrance ,his body, his love was drugging- she dug her nails into his shoulder blades when her orgasm tore through her, leaving her body almost shattered but she never felt more complete- she was hell upset today and now it felt like the best day ever, he made things bad and good and she was scared of the power her heart gave him suddenly, he released inside her after a few thrusts and let his body fall on hers, she pursed her lips when he pulled out of her slowly and rolled off to the side, "Huh you have no idea how much I wanted to do that." He breathed out looking at the ceiling. She was still breathing rapidly, she turned to him, "I had a really bad day."

"You did?" he frowned moving closer to her, "because of me I assume."

"No because of me." she rested her head on a pillow, "I expect a relationship which is unrealistic. I have to deal with it." He sighed

"I am sorry." He whispered pulling her against him, making her rest her head against his chest, she breathed of relief against his chest, she shook her head, "No, just don't apologize so I don't expect again." She couldn't get the sight of Rose's smirk off her head, why did she look so- Elena swallowed thick, she couldn't believe she wasn't confronting him directly, her eyes were going heavy from all the patting he was doing on her head, she threw her arm over his torso and closed her eyes for now.

She was asleep, she looked so beautiful like that, her long lashed eyes softly shut, her slightly swollen pink lips were slightly parted and her chest rose up and down against his side in a smooth rhythm, he slowly brushed a strand of her hair away from her face and suddenly it reminded him of a portrait, the sleeping form of her, her pictures at Kol's place, he hated that man, now this wasn't about business, it was personal, if Kol thought getting rid of him is easy, he would be disappointed, Elena was his, all his. He slowly moved forward and pressed a kiss against her parted lips.

A/N:  
FINALLY DONE and posting, what was your favorite part? Who hates Rose or maybe Damon?

Next chap:

Honeymoon chap plus Kol's big move!


	10. Honeymoon from hell

Chapter 10

The petite mort had lasted quite a while before she was coming back to consciousness. She fluttered her eyes in repulsion to the light, "Is it morning?" her voice not above a whisper. she lifted her face from the warm skin of his bicep, he was looking at the ceiling, "Nope, don't you hear the party?"

"Uh, now that you mention. I Do." She sat up, running her hand in her hair to fix it, completely ignoring his eyes on her, "You okay?"

"I am fine." She reached for her dress at the foot of the bed, he frowned sitting up, his hand reached out to her back, "What's the rush?"

"I wanted to spend some time with Dad and Jer." She smiled, which felt fake to him. "Okay, but uh are we-"

"What?" she moved away when he tried to help her zip the dress, "Elena!" he chuckled, "Stop it." He crawled forward and pulled her under him, she sighed, "Damon what are you doing?"

"I am making it up to you." He grinned as he leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose, she huffed but he tipped her chin up, "Can't you forgive your old guy one last time?" he pouted, she rolled her eyes at his antics, "what difference does it make?"

"It does, I like it when you're happy." He said peppering kisses on her cheeks, "When you're all chatty and messy. Even if it's frustrating sometimes."

'As if happiness was a choice.' She thought but couldn't say it, she licked her lips, "I am happy." His soft lips made their way to her neck placing the softest kisses, she clenched the sheets suddenly feeling blood rushing to her cheeks, "Elena." He said between kisses, "Did you think about it?" his hands tracing down her arms to hold her hands against the mattress, restricting their movement. "About what?" she asked swallowing thick.

"kids."

Suddenly she grew tense, her decision was non-negotiable, why wasn't he understanding this. "Damon listen." She coughed and pushed against him to sit up, " Kids? We talked about this. It has hardly been a week."

He frowned, "Why are you freaking out? I just- it's a good subject." He stroked the side of her hair, she shook her head, "No you should get use to this, I don't want to have kids right now, and when I say now I mean for at least five to eight years for safety."

"Safety from what? No- you want to have kids when I am not able to enjoy a family?"

"Forty is not old Damon." She cupped the side of his face but he moved it away, "No you tell me what this is about."

"I've already told you what this is about, this is about me not wanting kids dying." She got up the bed, he shook his head, "That's not your problem, it's mine."

She clenched her fists, "This is unfair Damon, Family should be our decision."

"Exactly, and here you are deciding everything without me." he spat, "Listen to me Elena, I want kids."

She narrowed her eyes, hands on her hips, "wa-wait wasn't I calling all the shots?"

"Clearly you're not in that position yet."

She nodded at his answer, "Oh." He looked up as she said, "Okay, if wanting to have kids is your decision than I have a condition." He rolled his eyes, "What?"

"You have to leave this." She said with her hands across her chest ignoring the shiver that went down her spine with his sudden condescending stare. "What?"

"The Mafia, if we're having kids then-"

He interrupted, "That's out of question for me."

"H-How?" she bit her lip, he looked at her as if she was crazy, "You realize what you're saying right? This is what I do, I've done it for as long as I remember, this has brought me up, fed me, protected me, I am not leaving it, besides do you know the enemies I've made? I can protect my children-"

She interrupted, "It's not for the kids Damon." Silence fell between them before he looked at her as if he was on to her.

He raised a brow, "Wait you're not suggesting I redeem myself this way, don't you?"

She nodded as she breathed, "Exactly, I thought I was okay with this but I."

"You what? Suddenly decided you want to change me into the ideal guy you wanted to marry?" his voice a little high, "You've completely lost it."

She finally snapped, "I've lost it? All I've been is honest with you and as much as I could , I played my part! I've given you complete control of my life and being a menace is more important to you?"

"Menace? This is all you've judged about me didn't you?"

She groaned, "See? This is what I am talking about, if I didn't know you were worth saving I'd never try to interfere."

"Well I didn't ask for it, I don't need your saving Elena." He spat, "If it bothers you, be it, I am not going to change."

She pursed her lips, "Then we've reached a negotiation, you're not going to change and I am not building a future further than this." She turned around to leave but his words froze her in her place, "Someone would."

She turned around, feeling she was losing the floor under her feet, "What do you mean?"

"You heard it Elena, if you're not going to ever go through with this, I'll have to arrange someone else for it."

Immediately Rose's face flashed in front of her eyes, her smirk, her disheveled appearance, she swallowed thick, "Do whatever the fuck you want!" she felt tears coming to her eyes as she walked out of the room, her high heels in her hands.

"Elena, there you are." Caroline touched her shoulder, Elena turned around to see her, Caroline gasped , "Elena why are you crying?"

She shook her head, "No it's just- I don't feel so good."

Caroline gestured Stefan to come and Elena frowned , "No Care I am fine-"

Stefan immediately sensed the tension, "Hey you okay?" she nodded but Stefan and Caroline accompanied her upstairs, it was weird how she wanted to lock herself alone and cry or self-pity. This was not her, she wasn't this woman, if she was anything like some months ago, she would have slapped him across the face but she wasn't angry, she was hurt.

"Will you tell me what's it about?" Caroline sighed exhausted caressing her face, she shook her head, "I don't want to talk about it, I just want to sleep it off okay?"

The door got knocked at and she instantly looked that way, even though she hated it, a part of her had wanted him to be sorry and follow her back here, apologize for making her cry but it was Grayson. Caroline got up and Stefan too followed her out of the room after greeting Grayson formally. Grayson walked in and Elena sat up wiping her eyes, "Hey Dad, how did that meeting go?"

Grayson sat on the bed in front of her and waved it off, "I rather talk about you."

She grinned, "Wow look who finally is running up for father of the year."

"Baby." He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, "I've always wanted you to be happy, but safe too."

"I still hate that word." She pursed her lips, "You know Dad I did grow up to marry a man just like you."

Her father frowned, he cupped the side of her face, she murmured, "You made mom cry."

He nodded and sighed as if regretting, it was the biggest regret of his life, "And you know how much I regret that right."

She sat back against the pillow, "I don't have to die to make him realize it right?" Grayson shook his head, "Don't you ever say that baby."

"I am going to be fine Dad." She tried to smile, "I worry about Jer and you though, why are you putting on weight? You have that blood pressure issue, " she shifted the conversation.

"Elena." Her father interrupted, "Come home if you want to."

She instantly found herself reluctant, "It's fine Dad , if things are bad, I'll come back."

(-HMHMHMHM-)

She found it absurd how she was mad at someone so much and yet she felt horrible about herself, less about herself, how she was worrying about where he was? What he was doing? Basically missing him? She felt disgusted! He made her feel like she wasn't enough and yet she was busy focusing on him. When the lecture with Tyler ended , he excused himself to the restroom, she still didn't got up her seat, instead pulled out a plain sheet, her hands gliding the pencil expertly on the page, Soon she is finished a single thick eye brow and ran her pointer finger on it, Exactly like the real, she had picked up the blue palette when someone coughed, she turned her head to see Tyler on the door frame, "Someone doesn't want to pack up today."

She grinned, "Call me a hard worker."

He walked inside to see her work but she hid it, "No please it's embarrassing."

"Come on." He said pulling it out of grip, "Hmm that's one familiar eye structure." She sighed, "It's a little personal." He shrugged as he sat next to her, "You look upset, want to talk about it?" She shook her head, "Eh I don't know, you'll not understand exactly."

"Try me." he said in a friendly manner. She sat back, "I just- I feel inadequate. I've never felt this way." She huffed, "My husband is just what I feared, he is Grayson gilbert."

Tyler frowned, "That sounds weird don't you think?"

She shook her head with a chuckle, "I meant the personality, he just does what he wants, even if he shatters me in the process." He didn't say anything allowing her to speak and elaborate whatever had her mind so occupied, "He's a great man , it sounds weird but he just consumes me, they way he speaks, the way he behaves , the way he just, he just makes everything so amazing but then suddenly he just changes, he will leave me in the middle of the night, he will disappear for days, he will act so cold sometimes and I don't know it's like he puts me on fire and then throws me in ice cold water." She looked at him, "I am crazy right?"

He shook his head, "No, not at all, you're putting in effort, I think you're amazing." She chuckled humorlessly shaking her head, "I-I am not, how am I amazing?"

He moved forward holding her hands "Come on you're being too hard on yourself, your kind and understanding, you care about people, enough evidence is you being in love with someone like him."

"What-What? No I am not in love with him okay." She breathed deep, "Maybe infatuated, but I cant be in love with him."

He laughed, "Are you sure? Come on Elena you're not seeing what others see, he fucking kills people for a living and you explain him like he's some art."

Her jaw dropped, "Look Tyler you're being too direct about this-"

"He cheated on you didn't he?"

Her mouth shut, "Maybe."

"Elena he doesn't give a fuck about you being hopelessly in love with him, he is from the mafia, he's probably in an orgy right now." He rolled his eyes, "These men are disgusting and if you think he'll realize you're hurt, he probably already has and guess what? He doesn't care."

She didn't know why but it hurt even more, she shook her head, "eh that's not true, he cares about me, he always apologizes if he messes up." Tyler interrupted , "But does he fix?"

Elena focused on what he says and she realized , never once was something 'fixed' just talked about, she reached for her phone, "I am going to prove you wrong right now."

"What are you doing?"

"I am showing you that one fight isnt ruining my relationship." She dialed the number, "It cancelled."

"Call again, maybe he'll care enough to pick up."

She redialed his number and brought the phone to her hair, the phone kept ringing, she almost gave up before it was picked up, she felt a smile spreading on her lips, "Hello Da-"

"Stoooooop calling!" a shrill voice spoke too loudly.

She clenched the cell phone tighter feeling everything slipping away into nothing, "Who is this?" she spat.

The call was cut and Elena called it again, her hands shivering, "switch off." She murmured, "He's- he's with someone." Tears started running down her eyes as if they were ready for this, she got up the chair, her mind playing the worst images in front of her, he threw their relationship out of the window for nothing-nothing , he never cared for her, he just wanted this idea of a family. Tyler held her arm turning her around, "Don't cry Elena, he was never okay for you." He pulled her into his embrace, stroking her hair as she shed tears on his shoulder, "I cant believe he'd do this, I was nothing-nothing to him, just a fucking deal who he wanted to knock up so he could fill in for his miserable childhood."

"Elena I'll get you out of this, shh." He kissed the top of her head, suddenly she felt too alarmed to be this close to Tyler, she literally told him everything about her relationship, what was she doing, she parted her face from his shoulder to look at him, "I am sorry , my baggage isn't yours, you shouldn't be my unpaid therapist."

"No-no-no, Elena, you think listening to you bothers me? I know you didn't choose to be here, I want to understand you."

She stared into his dark eyes as they dropped to her lips, when he closed the distance she pulled away instantly "No Tyler, I don't , this isn't a good idea."

"Elena I saw it in your eyes."

She nodded, "Yes but it would be to get back at him and not for you and I don't want to do that, that's disgusting Tyler."

He held her arms, "Elena he doesn't care about you, he's currently busy screwing someone else while you are here doing nothing, have some integrity."

She frowned, "Tyler this is insanity!"

"So you're going to do nothing about it?" he raised a brow, she stepped back, "I can't because if I ask him, he'll tell me something I don't want to hear." He looked at her as if he couldn't believe her, his eyes going from the sketch to her before he walked out.

"Just live in fucking denial."

(-HMHMHMHM-)

(_a few moments earlier)_

"_I am really thrilled you agree with me." Damon forwarded the file to Jeremy, he rubbed his eye as he read it, "So Klaus is in Bahamas?"_

_Damon nodded, "It's some sex-trafficking thing of his I heard."_

"_He's sex-trafficking from there?"_

"_A lot of tourists which means a lot of drunk girls who go missing." He sat back in his chair, "So you'll be leaving after Stefan and his Blond doll for Italy."_

_Jeremy huffed as he looked at the file again, "And you've told my sister about this or not?"_

_Damon grinned, "The part about the vacation to Bahamas? Yes, after I am done with Klaus, I'll take her to Italy."_

"_What for?"_

"_We have plans for Venice." He took the file back from Jeremy and closed it, "I need all his networks down Jeremy."_

_His office door got knocked at and Chris, one of his men entered, short hair, brown bulging eyes and built, "Capo, they're landed."_

"_Come on Jeremy, I'll introduce you to some men from Italy that'll help you while you're there." Jeremy joined Damon and they took the car from the office to east coast upstate to the massive mansion. It was dark by now and the party inside was fully heated with music, gambling, naked women along with alcohol and drugs._

_Jeremy stood by Damon's side handing him drinks as he bet his money on Roulette, luck (money wise) was on his side as the wheel spun in his favor. Jeremy and him celebrated with throwing back some drinks before busying themselves with liar's poker._

"_Straight bluff." Jeremy's words slurred due to the alcohol. Damon chuckled, "You're screwed."_

_Jeremy ran a hand through his hair, "I am just fucking drunk for this now."_

_Damon turned around when someone patted his shoulder, he turned around and groaned, "Rose Marie, your attempts are coming off stalkish and pretty desperate."_

"_We just keep bumping into each other must be a sign." She smirked, he rolled his eyes, "Listen to me, I am not going home tonight you know why?"_

_She raised a brow._

"_Because I don't want to see a woman today, not my wife , certainly not you so please fuck off if you may." He turned back to the table, Rose bit her lip touching his arm, "She is making you repel women now?"_

_He stepped away, "This is not going to happen so go make it happen with some other psychopath, this one has-"_

_Jeremy threw up right in front of him, Damon scrunched up his face, "Ugh buddy, you sure you're allowed to drink right?"_

"_Screw you Damon." Jeremy groaned, Damon rolled his eyes holding Jeremy's arm and helping to hold up, "Come on, time to go home for you."_

_Just then his phone rings, he saw the caller id and kept it on the table with a huff, "Chris I am leaving Jeremy out, you take care of the cards." He told one of his men as he helped Jeremy out. The phone rang again and Rose looked down at the phone, her blood rushed seeing that name, she picked it up and stepped back so Chris wouldn't see as he was focused on the cards._

_(-HMHMHMHMHM-)_

She looked at the clock when she saw the car enter the gates. Three in the night again, everything from earlier, from yesterday- it was just too much, she could never love him, not someone like him, he cared about no one but himself. So she wouldn't give him kids so he was getting them from someone else now? And he expected her to be fine with it? What was she going to do anyway?

When the door to the room opened, she stood up, arms folded across her chest, "Why do you even bother coming home?"

"Shut up." He huffed as he loosened his tie and threw it on the sofa, her jaw dropped, "What is wrong with you?" she walked up to him holding his collar, "Look at me!"

He frowned as she tightly held his collar, "You're hurting me on purpose now, was this everything to you? Wanting a family? And if I say no, I am suddenly worthless."

"You think that?" he asked.

"You act that way." She pursed her lips, "I am done dealing with this, I don't understand your puzzles anymore. What do you want?"

He stepped back looking at her head to toe, "You should go pack, we're leaving tomorrow noon."

"for what? Honeymoon from hell?"

(-HMHMHMHM-)

This month was going to be the worst month of her life, she was stuck on a vacation which she didn't want at this point. She just wanted to be in bed , watch sappy movies and cry over it. The only activity she could occupy herself with was the training moves Bonnie her taught her to practice, she was still in the core strengthening part. She was reading a magazine, in a private jet with her husband on the next seat reading a psychology book, neither starting the conversation to break the ice.

She finally shut her magazine, "This will be one long month."

"I'll regain some auditory senses since Caroline has destroyed it." He murmured flipping a page, she scratched her head, "So are you going to keep that promise you made?"

He sighed, "You cant jump off the plane if I say no."

She nodded, "yeah but I can definitely afford a seat from there back home."

He sat back, and closed the book, "Did you stop trusting me at all? I'll keep my promise." He looked at her, "But it's still going to be the honeymoon from hell since the whole silent treatment of yours."

"Don't act like it matters to you." She said looking into his dangerous blue orbs , he shook his head at her, "I already told you I like it when-"

"When I am happy? Well I cant be happy because I am not happy, why is that? Because my marriage is falling apart and as absurd as it sounds I want to save it."

"Our marriage is not falling apart." He held her hands taking the magazine away so he could hold them, "We have contradictory ideas which can be negotiated one way or another."

"What do you mean?" she frowned.

He sighed, "All I mean is I don't want to lose you over this, I hurt you because of my choices, I had no right to do that." He cupped the side of her face, "I know you get annoyed when someone takes the decisions for you, knowing that I tried to force the next step in our relationship when we weren't even ready for this."

She smiled when he brushed the hair away from her face, "After all we had a Venice fairytale to bring to life and I am not giving that up for a million dollars. You're the only girl that's that kinda special." He held her chin as he pecked her lips, she moved away immediately before he could make her forget every thing , "You are not allowed to do that so soon."

He narrowed his eyes, "I know you're pissed at me, but haven't you tortured me enough but walking around in that little towel all morning."

"You seriously deserve more." She said as she rested her head on the seat, he smiled, letting his arm across her, "What would I do without you?" he said as he kissed her temple, she looked up at him, "You'll do just fine." Although he heard her he didn't want to ruin this further, he had her for a long time to himself, before they go back he would fix everything there is to fix.

He knew things couldn't just be right, Elena was compromising right now, she would give a light smile, accept a kiss on the top of her head but he knew she wasn't alright, it was weird how he knew her eyes so well now, he knew just by looking at them that she was happy or not and truly since the night when he left to see Kol's hide out, things weren't right between them and she was pretending that it was fine, which he hated, the only thing he might hate about her was this, even in the car on the way to their rest house she was keeping distance between them. He had slept for about half an hour during the flight and he was sure she hadn't.

The car entered through large gates to an area covered in thick trees, followed by a path that had moon flowers on the sides, she loved how wonderful this place smelled, like summer, coconuts and roses had scented the air, the slightly cold air felt so fresh as they got out of the car, this rest house wasn't what she had expected, like a tall building. It was expanded on a large area but wasn't tall, extended garden in front of it with the most beautiful flowers. Brief stairs that lead to a house with Mahogany gables and white walls, large windows whose frames were decorated with flowers, a man on seeing them , dressed up as if he was a lawyer in a big firm, quickly approached her and Damon, "Good Evening _il padrone_, I've made all the arrangements, the servants rooms are at the back, accessible to you Capo." He spoke looking down as if paying respect, "Good evening Signora, I hope you had a comfortable journey."

She pursed her lips as he took out the keys, "Capo if Signora wants a tour."

"No thank you Gabriel, we'll take it from here." he took the keys, "Tell the servants to get the luggage." He turned to her holding her hand, "Let's go."

She looked around the place, enjoying the refreshing air and the amazing fragrance, "where are the guards?"

"Guards wont be needed, trust me." he squeezed her hand a little and she felt a shiver run down her spine as they entered the house, The luggage was being kept and they were given juice as she showed her around the house, "This is the living room as it's obvious." He held her hand taking her from room to room, "A library." She chuckled seeing the study with five to six shelves, , large comfortable couches near the windows, from which the view of the beach could be seen, "So you've been here before?"

"Umhm Once or twice." He picked up a remote from the desk and held it up in front of the wall, when he pressed a button, the wall slid up making Elena jump,"Ah!"

He laughed holding her from falling, "Relax."

"Oh it's a freaking screen , God damn it I thought you had a secret lair or something." She placed a hand on her fast beating heart, "That would actually be very cool but uh it's just a home cinema."

He took her outside, she raised her brows looking at the Jacuzzi outside a few feet from a large swimming pool , large chairs bordering the pool with tables that had towels, sun screen, magazines and one or two books, she bit her lip seeing the beach from here, "Andros is just beautiful."

"It is." He said lacing their fingers, she looked down at them before she turned back, "A bath here seems tempting. I'll go check the room." He let her hand go still following her inside, the only voice in the house of her white converse shoes against the wooden floor, she was wearing a bright pink sleeveless sundress that ended above her knees, her hair half up clipped back, she could dress simple and still invoke all sorts of desire in him, it didn't matter if the dress didn't cling to her body or show off her perfect long legs. When she entered the room she realized he had been following her, she turned around, "I think I should use the-"

Her words interrupted as he picked her up against the wall, kissing her hard on the lips, she pushed her palms against his chest pushing him, "Argh Damon I need to Pee, seriously just-" she made him put her back down, she breathed as he stroked her hair, "Hey Elena we should really talk about this."

"We will, after I … use the bathroom , if you please just step aside." She said awkwardly and moved away from him and walking to the bathroom, when she shut the door, he huffed, he pulled out his phone and switched it on, he dialed Enzo's number and walked outside, "Enzo is Marcus speaking yet? We've landed."

"Not yet, but I am sure he will in a few days. Klaus was last spotted at the city center with Diego. I have planted a girl there, Andie- she's a tourist according to what we have taught her, I've wired the girl, we're going to track him before this son of a bitch speaks."

"remember, I want Klaus, not Diego."

"Sir it's two birds with one stone, we'll reach Klaus from Diego." He suggested, "Should I call later or Signora still is unaware."

"Mrs. Salvatore is going to stay out of this Enzo." Damon turned around to check if she was not around, "So you don't call me, I'll call you when I find the opportunity, absolutely don't call unless it's something very important."

"Yes sir." He obeyed. Damon hung up and headed outside.

(-HMHMHMHM-)

This wasn't fair, how could she walk around the house wearing the most transparent thing she had, a white sheer shirt that covered half her thighs, he could easily see the blue bikini underneath it. This was definitely the 'you can see not touch' going on, he felt his jeans incredibly tight as she passed the study. He put the book he was reading and stood up following her, okay servants weren't in the house but they were around, and she was here dressed like every man's wet dream. He watched as she took off her sheer shirt near the Jacuzzi, putting the sunscreen all over her body, he sighed as he walked behind her, "Let me help."

She jumped a little but calmed down hearing his voice and when she felt his hands on her back, "It's fine."

"No it's not." He took the lotion from her and squeezed out a little, he applied it on her back slowly, just enjoying how soft her skin felt, how it was like a waterfall of silk. He moved her hair out of the way and leaned down placing a kiss on her shoulder, she instantly stepped away, "Uh Damon I really just- okay." She fidgeted as she moved slightly away from him and stepped into the Jacuzzi. He sighed moving back, she reached for a book on the frame when she saw him going back, her heart just twisted a weird way, "Damon."

He looked over his shoulder by the sliding door, "Hmm?"

"Join me if you want to." She gave a hint of a smile, he didn't answer for a while before he walked back slowly and took off his shirt, she buried her face in her book when she heard him unbuckle his belt and stripped down to his boxers. The water splashed a little as he sat on the in front of her, now just hating that this stupid thing was big enough for the distance, he looked at the different magazines and just sighed deciding he didn't want to read, she stole a few glances at him as he just stared at the beach. She kept her book aside and sat back, "The weather is pretty good."

"Hmm." He looked at her and raised a brow, she bit her lip as she moved towards him reluctantly and sat by his side, "It must be weird being this relaxed."

"Kind of it is. I don't hate it." He bit the inside of his cheek, "I just don't like how you're completely repulsed by me."

"You really think it's that?" she turned to him and held his arm putting it around herself, "You know what's going on, you hurt me, you took me all the way up to just push me down from there." His lips parted but no words came out as she continued, "Now you know how being shut out feels like don't you?"

"I don't do it on purpose."

"You make the choice Damon." She sat back, "And do you see me whining or shouting, even crying- at this point I am done. I just-"

"I am sorry Elena." He pulled her to him and cupped her face, "But you are supposed to talk to me, you are supposed to tell me all this, that what I am doing is less than you want."

"It is obvious Damon, if you'd care-"

"Hell I do care." He held her hand, taking out her princess cut diamond ring, her eyes widened, "What are you-"

"Just let me talk now because apparently that isn't your forte anymore." He held her hand, swallowing thick, "We did this wrong the first time, I didn't get to see you, I didn't get to know you, but now we're here, knowing somewhat, Elena, I vow to never hold back." He looked into her brown eyes shining in the setting sun, "To seize every moment I have with you, to never let you down like this okay?" he wiped away the single tear running down her cheek, "Even if I don't know fear, I'll understand yours, even if I've never felt pain, I'll try to feel yours. - I'll be the man who will try again and again until I figure it all out, make you laugh, okay what else we got?" he smiled sitting back, "Just make sure you never want to leave." He slipped the ring on her finger, "Marry me Gilbert." She smiled when he brought her hand close to his mouth and kissed the ring on her finger, "Fight me if you want to just don't push me away this way."

"You know I can't do that for longer." She circled her arms around his neck, "You can't do every time though."

He nodded, "Either I level up the game or just stop fighting at all right?" she sighed as she leaned forward and crashed her lips against him, she moaned feeling his tongue enter her mouth, his hands firmly cupping her face, he turned her to press her against the wall of the Jacuzzi, when he pulled away , he pressed kisses to her chin down to her neck, she blushed as his hands traced down her body pulling her against him, she could feel his stiff length against her abdomen and let out a shaky breath, "Damon- hey." She cupped his face making him look at her, "Christening the Jacuzzi is just not the ideal start okay honey?"

He groaned as she turned around to move but he pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her, "Don't go away now."

She calmed down and rested back her against his shoulder, "If you say so."

"Hmm you doing what I say? That's a news." He nibbled on her ear lobe, she giggled as she elbowed him playfully, but he didn't move back, "That's unfair actually, the inaccuracy of that sentence."

"You just ignore the way how head over heels you have me for you just with that mentality." He faked anger, "Like my love means nothing." He pouted at her, she pursed her lips at his words, "Love?" she breathed out but he didn't hear the question.

"Hmm what will you do about that?" he bit her shoulder playfully, she shook her head, "You know I uh, my Mother was a firm believer in soulmates, she'd say that my Dad was her soulmate."

He saw her eyes go empty all of a sudden, she turned to him and rested her head against his chest, "And she was not the way I am, she didn't hate the Mafia like I did."

"Hmm." He had to ignore how she'd seethe at the word 'Mafia'

"She'd say that whatever the circumstances would be they were together for the long run, like them against the world stuff."

"Romeo Juliet?" he murmured ,she nodded, "But turns out they weren't Romeo Juliet , they were Sid and Nancy." She chuckled, "She walked in on him while he was with some other women, not one- many women." She swallowed thick, "Mom was pregnant at that time, I was very young when one day she took me to his headquarters and there he was drunk on top of another woman, now I didn't know what was necessarily bad about this, but Mom, she just went completely crazy, she just attacked the woman, and it was very- traumatizing, we went to my grandparents and we stayed there till Jeremy took birth, they reconciled but it wasn't the same."

"Oh."

"Mom was never happy, she just made us the center of her world, we'd stay at my Grandparents most of the times until she died."

"I am sorry Elena." He said in a low voice. She looked up at him and smiled, "I am not entirely different from my mom though."

"Hmm." He raised a brow, darkness setting around them slowly, "I can't share Damon." She licked her lips, her eyes travelled down to look at his lips, she murmured, "So just don't hurt me okay- not anymore please."

"Elena no one takes your place you know that."

She shook her head, "I don't know- you have to show me." she closed the distance between their lips, enclosing his lower lip between her lips, she slowly sucked on it, "Take me to bed." She parted slightly before kissing him again, he let his hand at the back of her neck, the other around her waist, as he picked her up, she let out a shaky breath as he attacked her lips again and moved her out of the tub out, she let her legs wrap around his torso as he took her back to their room, their tongues fighting for dominance as he pushed open the door to their room and groaned when they crashed against the bed, he held her locked against his as his mouth travelled down her neck to her poking nipples, he licked her nipple through the material before he pulled it down with his teeth, she moaned as he blew on it before taking it in his mouth , swirling his tongue around it, "huh Ah Oh God."

He repeated the process on her other nipple, she pulled at her hands but he didn't let her go, "Don't move." His voice a little stern, she threw her head back, arching her back, "Please-please just, I need you right now."

He loved how she was so eager for him, as desperate as he was for her, he left her hands and they immediately went down to his boxer's band-he parted a little pulling down her panties from her legs, one of his hands traced up her back to undo her bikini top, "Definitely a yes for you." He gestured to the bikini throwing it aside, she smiled as he reached for the drawer, when she heard the peeling sound of a packet, she sat up, "No just- it's okay."

"what?" he raised a brow.

She swallowed thick, "I want to have your children." She hooked her arm around his neck as she leaned forward but he pulled back, "The other day it was the biggest fight we had and now you're ready?"

"No one's ever ready Damon." She tried to reach for him, trailing slow kisses up his bicep to his neck, her soft lips and her tongue making him forget everything, her hands tracing up and down on his chest, she moved down his body , placing soft and slow kisses, he let out a breathe, "Holy hell-" she looked up at him as she slowly started to straddle him, he sat up, "This feels twisted."

"What?" she swallowed thick as he moved away from her, "How can you change this decision of yours like that."

"Why are you thinking about it, I am giving you what you wanted." She frowned, "Once we have a baby you'll have no reason to-"

"To what?"

"To sleep around." She pulled a blanket on herself, "I know you haven't changed, I know I cant change you, I need closure Damon, I am going to put my last effort in for you before I do what mom did-"

"what the fuck are you talking about?" he shouted, as he walked in to the wardrobe getting himself a pair of jeans, "So this is what you think I am doing?"

"I know everything Damon, if me not wanting to have a baby with you was enough reason to fuck Rose for you."

He walked back zipping up his jeans, "You stop right there!" he growled, "I don't know what Grayson told you it wasn't what it looked like."

"Like what? What are you talking about?" she got up frowning, "So Dad knew?"

"El-Elena I fucking swear nothing happened with her." he moved forward but she flinched, "At the party right? When she was so happy after what every you two did, wasn't this before the baby conversation?"

"Elena these are two separate things."

"Oh my god you did didn't you? And you still had enough balls to touch me after that?" she stood up on the bed, suddenly tears running down her eyes, "I can't believe I thought I'd change you, I can't believe I waited for you every night , God knows how many bed's you've been in- all those calls."

"Elena you're completely overthinking this." He looked up at her, she jumped down the bed, "Yes! You're right! I am overthinking this, maybe this is all a lie, or maybe it's not Damon."

"Oh for the love of God, if it were true I wouldn't tell you I love you." He shouted, she shivered from the growl and swallowed thick, "You never did." She said walking to the wardrobe and putting on a white V-neck with some jeans.

"So let me say it now." He rushed to her and when she held up her arms in front of her , he held them and pulled them away, "I love you, I haven't said to you I know but just trust me when I say I do, I know I don't deserve you, you've always been too good for me-"

"So you tended to that insecurity by screwing other women? I wish I could believe you but I don't, because if it's a lie , it's the worst lie you've told me yet." She pressed her lips together as tears ran down her eyes, "Because I do Damon, I love you despite you hurting me in the worst way possible, despite you making me feel like the most inadequate person alive, despite knowing you will never give up anything for me and I would give up everything, whether it's my morals, my choices, my feelings everything." She bit down on her lip from crying out loud, "Even having a baby was a compromise but I know-"

"So the only reason you wanted to have my child was to tame me?" he raised a brows, "Because you couldn't fucking trust me."

"Why should I trust you?" she gritted her teeth, "Have you ever given me a fucking reason." She shouted and pushed him, "You lied! Every time you left me all alone, I wanted nothing more than your arms around me which was around some other bitch while I waited, you threatened me that if I don't have a baby with you, you'll kick me to the curb and 'arrange' someone, well fuck you!" she pushed him again, this time harder, "Why would I trust you when everything you say is a lie! I am tired of waiting on your love, I am tired of trying to be better for you, being with you is exhausting!" she cried. "fine, if this is how bad it is Elena." His eyes slightly watery, "If trusting me is the last thing you'll do, if you think that I don't deserve anything-"

"You said it yourself, you don't need my saving." She sucked up her tears as her body had started shivering from all this crying.

"And that's the one thing you'll believe." He stepped back, "Then leave."

"W-what?"

"Go away from my life." He said firmly, his brows furrowed slightly, eyes still sparkling with tears, "I am not tying you down anymore Elena, if being in this marriage hurts you, leave."

"Damon don't say that." She swallowed thick, as she cupped his face when he was turning away, "I am miserable without you, you know that, we've been through things Damon."

"Not anymore Elena, I think it's best if we apply for an annulment." He distanced himself from her, she didn't know why but suddenly she felt numb, did she meant nothing to him? Absolutely nothing? "You just said you loved me."

"You called it a lie." He said with a deep breath, now composed fully, not angry not sad- she saw him walk past her to the walk in wardrobe to get a shirt probably while she was left there, feeling un-wanted , un-needed, suddenly she felt out of control as she ran towards him and circled her arms around him resting her head against his back, "I love you, I still love you, uh I can't go on forever without you."

He felt her tears on his back , she pressed kisses against his shoulder blades, "I am sorry, just don't-"

"No you listen to me." he turned her around , a gasp escaped her as her back hit against the wall, "whether you believe it or not, I wanted you exactly the moment I saw you all those months ago, that's the fucking reason I said yes to the deal, some how it made sense in my fucking head to throw away an orgy a night to you! You know how much I fucking waited for you, you don't! but I wanted to do something right in my damn life this time, I gave you time, I was patient with you, I let you break all the walls like they weren't fucking there, and Rose or any other woman meant nothing , I didn't craved them, I craved you, even when I had you, every other woman stopped looking good enough suddenly, no one invoke this in me like you and then i realized that I fucking fell in love with you. I went out of my way to make you happy only to have you calling me a monster and stomping on my heart."

"Damon." She breathed out.

"And it makes me want to die, that kind of impact isn't good now." He stepped away, "I will not give up this fight, I have survived hunger, bullets- traps and this is not something that will take me down, I refuse to give up now when I had it so good Elena, so go, make this easy and go." He spat, "Because I can't make you trust me baby so forget this marriage and what I put you through and go."

He walked out of there and Elena heard him throwing the keys on the floor outside. A moment later she heard the door bang shut, she sat down against the cupboard bringing her knees to her face, she rested her head on them as she broke into sobs, she begged someone like that for the first time but it meant nothing, all this love, it meant nothing.

A while later when she was almost asleep right there, the house phone rang, she got up and wiped her tears, maybe just maybe, she thought as she picked up the phone, "Signora, Gabriel here, Capo has informed me you have to leave for New York by tomorrow."

"He said that?" her voice was pressed and groggy, she huffed, "Okay I guess yes."

"When should I arrange the breakfast and the car for that?"

"No just skip the breakfast uhm get me one for six , there's not much to pack." Her voice breaking again, she shut the phone and turned away, the door got knocked at on that instance, Damon did throw the keys here, she frowned as she went for the door, "hello Elena."

She narrowed her eyes , "Uhm uh I think I know you."

"Kol- Kol Michaelson." She heard before she felt a blow on the back of her head that shoved her into darkness."

A/N

I know everyone hates me and my characters right now LOL, but it'll clear up guys (as soon as I figure it out first hehehehe)

By the way last week was my birthday so when I woke up to Scarlett2112 (Carol) 's so many reviews I was so happy , it was the best birthday gift. Also thanks for all the other reviews. Coolangel, scarlettrose, amazingaisha, jennagilbert7,dontsayno, so please if you wanna give me something, give me a review (Or a movie deal for this story) I think I'll end this in about 2 chaps, what say? Good ride!


	11. They want us apart

A/N: so it's going to take more than two chapters to wrap it up, don't get too pissed about it. This chapter will include some flashbacks (Never written before) from their marriage. Flashbacks in italics

NOW TO THE CHAPTER

This place was too windy to even sit quiet and enjoy a drink, not enjoy- just ignore a problem right ahead of him, great, just great- how a marriage ended on the first day of honeymoon, and did he fight for her? did he fight for this relationship? No, absolutely no, he just gave up like he was used to in any personal relationship he had, never did he want to 'learn' about his parents, or even find out if they are alive, how could he be so hollow there.

He let his feet down from the beach chair, his jeans rolled up at the end. His feet had some spots of wet sand as he had been previously taking a walk there. The lights Gabriel put were almost blinking from the intense wind. He felt restless.

_First night of their marriage, he had been back from a meeting, she was there on the king sized hotel room bed, curled into a little ball on the bed, the sheet had seemingly dropped to the floor along with a cuddle pillow, he huffed as he walked up to the bed and picked up the blanket, pulling it up on her, she immediately spread her legs as if stretching, he kept the pillow under her arm and saw her make a weird noise as she held his arm, "I am thirsty."_

"_Okay." He whispered back , he filled her half a glass of water and sat on the bed next to her, she sat up slightly, taking the glass from him, she gulped down a little and handed it him the glass, resting her head on his shoulder, she rubbed her face against his shoulder, as if drying her wet lips, he looked down at her angelic face, her lightly shut eyes, her soft features, she let herself fall back on the pillow._

She had fully charmed him in ways he couldn't comprehend. Was it because she didn't want him like he did? She didn't want to married to him, she said over and over that she didn't need him, he was used to being needed. He traded with that thing and here she was telling him that she wasn't interested in that?

"_I can handle myself." She argued. He raised an eye brow looking up from his file in the office right before she stormed in. "Congratulations." He said with his best poker face._

"_Those two men outside say I can't go outside to shop." She said with her arms across her chest. He kept the file on the table, "You heard them."_

"_Damon you can't talk to me like that, you are not my father." She said with gritted teeth, "Ugh God isn't this enough for you that I am living in this huge prison with you, now I can't go out?"_

"_Honey, just tell them what you want, they will get it." He waved her off and reached for his file, she walked across the table to stand in front of him, she leaned down, keeping her hands on the chair's arms. " I think you're not listening, I want to go outside."_

"_We've established that for a while now." He murmured back, trying his best to not look at her lips, because once he starts, he zones out and then he looks like an idiot._

"_Yes we have, I married you because my Dad told me I'll have my freedom while you married me for that base right? So you have your thing going, it's time we do my part of the deal." She gave a fake toothy smile._

_He pouted, "Well, your Dad also said I get to have his daughter."_

"_I am not something to be owned." She said raising her head a little, "Do you understand that?"_

"_I do." He cocked his head to a side, "But I also understand that you get into a lot of trouble so why don't you find anything which requires you not leaving because you know, you can't leave without me." he added a smirk in the end, her smile didn't fade, like she was on to something, "Mm then you close up all this work and let's go together."_

"_Uh-no." he said with a snarky tone, she huffed, "Okay I'll give you a deal."_

"_Mm what is possibly something that you can offer me and I'd want?" he said in a mocking voice, she rolled her eyes, "You get to share the bedroom with me."_

"_I already do." He shrugged, "I just don't come in on purpose I have work."_

"_No-No-No, it includes possibilities." She winked, "You know, maybe I feel warm, I'd want to switch my PJ's for that thing you saw the other day in the drawer."_

"_The red one." He asked stilled._

"_The red one." She raised her brows. "You know we never know how things go, one might get frisky." _

_He inhaled sharp when her hand rested on his thigh, slowly stroking it up, "You know what I mean."_

_He nodded, "Okay, we can go-go outside, where are we going again?"_

"_Oh just the mall, maybe a park after wards, there's a convention a few-"_

"_right! Right whatever." He stuttered on his words._

_She chuckled and stood up straight, so happy on her toes as she walked out of there._

_(-HM-HM-HM-HM-)_

"_Arghh I am so tired, why the hell would you want to go to that stupid festival." He groaned as he almost jumped on the bed, The servants kept their bags and left the room, Elena closed the door, "But it was fun."_

"_No it wasn't , you wanted to everywhere, I think I've had enough of outside for my whole life." He sat up and huffed, "Would you look at the time it's twelve."_

"_You're out till two regularly." She said with hands on her hips._

"_Oh right, but then I am not riding an electric bull 19 times." He gritted his teeth, "I seriously made a fool out of myself."_

"_The expression goes thinking from your dick." She smiled as she sat back on the bed and took of her shoes._

_He raised a brow, "You did this on purpose didn't you? You wore me out so I couldn't wore you out." He said as he was some expert, she giggled, "What? Honey- that's exactly what I did."_

_He narrowed his eyes at her, then slowly moved back, "I am not tired at all, not for sex at least. "_

"_You aren't?" she asked pouting._

"_Okay I am, but this isn't over. You can't mess with me like this."_

"_Oh trust me I didn't want to, you made me do it with all this not letting me out of the cage bullshit." She got up and flipped her hair back, he sighed, "Well can you at least put on the- red lacy stuff on."_

"_I don't think so."_

"_Arghh you're never going to win wife of the year." He lied down and pulled up the blanket over himself, she smiled, "It's good I don't want to."_

He re-filled his glass and sat back on the chair, God she pushed his buttons, every time she interrupted him on his work from home day, it ended bad, but now to think of it, he wanted it back, he wanted these few months back, live them over and over, get infuriated, get angry- just enjoy and re-live it. It had been roughly four hours and he missed her, they had been apart more than that, yet this time all he wanted to do was walk back to the house, say it'll work, it will, believe what he says now. But this was all just a fantasy, Elena and him were different people.

"_What are you doing?" He asked as he walked inside the sun room, she turned around, revealing a canvas behind her, "Tyler said I need inspo, so I am looking at the garden, see if I like something enough to draw."_

"_So why is that still blank?" he looked at the canvas, she sighed, "I just can't focus, I mean what should be my inspiration, I am a small human being."_

"_I don't get it." He stepped closer to her._

"_I always wanted to travel for this, so with different experiences, my mind would push me to innovation, every time I pick up a brush, I don't like what's in my head. I just feel so stupid about it." She said as she picked up a brush lying on the side._

"_I know a place near-by , maybe you'll like it." He suggested, "I'll take you there."_

"_Umm I can't bring a electric bull ride there." She pursed her lips, he chuckled, "You know what, it's in exchange for nothing, shocker."_

_She frowned, "That is a shocker, are you trying to get back at me."_

"_I am trying to spend Tuesday with you." He held her wrist and brought her closer, "Because I could be wanting to spend time with you."_

"_How am I suppose to be inspired with you being all smoldering seductive." She asked with a grin, resting her hands against his chest._

"_Ugh that's not my fault now, I am born this way." He winked, "now will you let me take you there."_

"_I cant say no." she said and planted a kiss against his cheek, "I'll go get ready."_

_(-HMHMHMHM-)_

"_Put your feet in." he instructed as he rolled up his sleeves half way and sat down on the large rock suspended between water, she was sitting next to him, "Ohh it's so cold."_

"_Just let it stay there for a moment." He said and held her hand, rubbing it for some warmth, a small water fall in the mountains, it was summer so it was perfect, the water so clear you could see your reflection, this place was surrounded by trees with shiny green leaves, everything looked fresh here, she squeezed his hand back, "This is really nice, where did you find it."_

"_Ugh you wouldn't wanna know."_

_She narrowed her eyes then gasped._

"_I am kidding, baby you are so easy to mess with." He laughed as he tucked her under his arm, letting out a breath, thank god he didn't continue that story, telling your wife about disposing-_

"_Hey it's weird but, I already have a fresh idea." She said in a small voice._

"_That's great, wanna tell me?"_

_She nodded looking up, "Umm an old couple right here on this spot."_

"_That's sweet." He commented and kissed the tip of her nose, She chuckled. She ran her hand on his chest, looking up at his face in adoration, but he didn't say anything. _

Now he wanted to, say they could be that, couldn't they. He put the glass back and took out his phone, he called her phone, not responding. Why would she, he did tell her to fuck off.

He called the house, not responding.

Suddenly a pang of anxiety hit him all over, and he was as anxious as he called again and again, okay what if he saw her once more? It shouldn't make things any difficult than they are but he'd know she's safe.

(HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM)

"Erghh" Elena groaned in pain as she felt her hair being slightly pulled at, "Oh Oh did I hurt you?" she heard a grave voice, it scared her enough to send chills down her spine, she tried to open her eyes, it hurt, so much work to do that.

"You okay love?"

She slowly opened her eyes, everything was dark here, even after opening her eyes, just a few lights here and there, but this place looked like an endless here, spread here and there till where she could see, some sort of factory, not a factory as there was no specific equipment, a few things here and there, boxes, a lot of them.

"K-Kol."

"That's right." He cooed , "I was dying to hear you say my name Elena, say it again."

"You're sick." She said with a scrunched up face.

"Say my name , love." he said some what taken aback but didn't feel ashamed to ask again, she pursed her lips, "Fuck off."

She didn't know how but suddenly she felt a blow across her face, he had slapped her, a shriek escaped her but when she realized she couldn't move, she found out herself tired to a upright column in the room, he gripped her chin, brushing her hair away from it, "I don't want to hurt you, I don't, and I wont until you listen to me."

She felt the tears in her eyes but she refused to cry in front of him, "Don't touch me."

"Why? You're mine now, I can touch you all I want." He smirked, "God you're so enticing." He leaned in and placed a kiss against her neck, she kicked her feet, fisting her hands, "KOL Don't- please, don't touch me." her voice broke and she found herself sobbing, surprisingly he stopped, he pulled back slightly, "Hey don't cry love, please." He wiped her tears away, she cringed and pulled away the best she could, as he whispered apologies, "I just-I just forget how soft you are, I am so sorry love."

"Kol! No stop, I am married now, you-you can't, I don't love you, I love my husband."

"Married?" he furrowed his brows, then moved back , sitting a few steps away from her, she tried to control her beating heart, "I told you not to marry him remember."

"You did."

"Then why did you. "his face cold.

"I don't know." Her voice was trembling as she remembered the day.

_She looked at the bag her fiancé had given her as a woman was doing her pedicure, Caroline clapped her hands as she walked into the room, "You guys are taking way too much time, I think we have four hours now. We have to the make-up and hair, and look you didn't even put a moisturizing mask on her." she said to one of the make-up artists._

"_You boys get in here and take these pieces back to the upstairs room." She ordered the helpers and sat by Elena, "Ugh I feel like it's my wedding."_

_Elena pursed her lips, "Me too."_

"_Well you're welcome." She snapped._

"_Oh come on Caroline, you begged me for the job." _

_Caroline huffed as she got up and left the room, Elena threw her head back, "Can't I skip this?"_

"_You want to?" a voice startled her. She looked up to see one of the man from the planner's agency had replied as he was packing shoes and putting them back into packaging._

"_Yes." She said in a snarky tone for no reason, he turned around, Elena raised her brow, his face looked some little familiar, big spectacles, blonde hair, wearing a grey tux, "You're a princess, I am sure you can skip this."_

"_Oh I wish I were you." She said._

"_Hmmm." He completely dis-regarded the lady who was doing her nails and sat on the next seat, "You can be you and run away."_

"_I don't know Damon Salvatore is a powerful man. He'll snap and destroy us all." She palmed her face. _

"_If he's so powerful why does he have to force you into this? I think he's plenty weak." He grinned, "Instead of pursuing you, he's shoving his personality down your throat, doesn't sound very courageous to me, sounds like a baby shouting for attention; thee is my wife because I am powerful?"_

_Elena chuckled, "It's easy to say that."_

"_It's easy to do when you really want it." He said with a reassuring smile._

"_So I shouldn't marry him? That's what you are suggesting?"_

"_I am saying do what you want." He said in calm voice yet there was some anxiety in his voice, she bit her lip, "What about my father? What if Damon lashes out on Jeremy and my Dad?"_

"_If they cared about you they wouldn't put you up for grabs."_

_Before she could say anything Caroline burst in "Seriously guys can you please move the boxes now."_

"You know, you do." He seethed, "You wouldn't do anything without thinking, that's what I know about you, it takes you fourteen minutes to decide on a dress of course you know."

She swallowed thick, "You have no right to know anything about this."

"Oh I know everything Elena, I've been with you for a longer time than Damon." He got closer again, "I know what you like, what you hate, what you love."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she shouted at him trying to move but failed, he laughed as he clutched her ropes, "Don't be scared Elena, I knew you'd be scared the day you saw how much I love you, I know Damon was."

"What-What do you mean by that?" she churned her teeth, "What? You didn't hurt him right? Kol!"

"Oh shut up." He tapped her face.

(-HMHMHMHMHM-)

Enough of this bullshit, he needed to make sure this feeling in her heart was wrong, maybe he just missed her, no not maybe, but definitely it made things worse, why did she do this to him, broke him down brick by brick, he didn't even recognize himself anymore. Once he got back to the house, he frowned seeing the front door wide open, suddenly terror filled him and he sprinted to the place, "ELENA." But that sinking feeling.

One room the other.

Bags half-unpacked. Everything she owned was right there. She couldn't leave like this, but right now he just wished she had gotten super angry and left and not the alternative.

"Gabriel!" he shouted as he ran back to the rooms situated at the back of the house.

"Capo." The man was shivering from the impact of his voice. "Is something wrong."

Damon grabbed him by the collar, gritted teeth, "Where is my wife?"

"She was inside, I asked she said she would leave at six."

"She's not in there Gabriel." He said in a dangerously twisted voice, "this couldn't be it Gabriel , Elena would never leave this way, now I know only a few people know of this place, so don't make me use my gun and tell me what do you have to do with this."

The man turned cold and blue, shaking his head, "Capo I did nothing, I swear, I'd never be disloyal to you."

"Gabriel if you don't tell me where she is, I'll kill you anyway." He dragged the man back to the house and threw him down on the carpet, "Fine, I know just how to make you talk."

"Capo please." He cried.

Damon unlocked one of the luggage bags and tore into the base of the bag with his pocket knife, taking out his gun, "This should do it."

"Capo. Please Capo."

"You can't run Gabriel, tell me where the fuck Elena is." He threatened as he pointed it to his face, then moved forward, gripping his mouth and pushing the gun in it, "Fine since you like to be all zipped up- we have reached a negotiation."

"Mmghh." His voice muffed, Damon raised a brow, "Was it something you have to confess?"

He man eagerly nodded, Damon took pulled out the gun, held the back of his head, pushing the gun against his temple, "Hmm go on."

"He said he would kill me if I didn't Capo, he had tricked his brother into coming here so you'd come after Klaus and be distracted with him, while he does whatever he has to do, but when he found out Signora was leaving tomorrow, he told me to just go and stay in the back."

"And you did? You didn't think for a second what I'd do to you Gabriel."

He shook his head, Crying, "Capo, I was forced to do whatever I did, I was helpless, he is insane for Signora he could have done anything."

"Well we might have something common after all." He said as he pulled the trigger and left his head, the man fell back, blood pouring out of his head, Damon huffed dusting his hands, Kol was here somewhere and he had Elena. He had the love of his life locked and it was probably the worst mistake of his life because he would end up because of it. Anything who thought of harming her would.

A/N:

Sorry guys short chapter. Thank you to all the reviewers and the readers, do you like the chapter? Next will be a big one if I get reviews about it heheheh. I was on relaxer pills so forgive any typos (I make a lot)


	12. I'd like to hold her head underwater

It had been hours, hundreds of sweat drops had trickled down her face, she felt sick at this point, why was captive this way, certainly Kol had something in his head, and it was rotten, she knew it. It had been hours since she had been trying to loosen the ropes that tied her hands at her back, her hands were sweaty and slippery and she felt that if she tried to scratch the damp portion of the ropes she would easily cut it. But what after that, she had her eyes set on the boxes at the far end of the room, her plan was, she's hide there and when Kol shows up, she would sneak from the back, she didn't know how many people he had here, she had seen none.

The noise of the large metal door gave her goosebumps and she tried to conceal the damage she had done to the ropes by pushing her back against the column she was tied against.

"Elena." He called in a sing-song voice, she bit her lip to keep herself from crying, he just paranoid her. "You're not sleeping again now are you?" he walked across the column to sit in front of her and sat back, "oh let me help you." He said and leaned forward, brushing away the hair from her face, she pulled back, showing her repulsion, she knew that would make him mad. It did, but like the other two times, he didn't hit her, just gritted his teeth. Then after a intake of breath to calm himself down, sat back, passing a tray to her feet, "Look what I brought you?"

Just looking at the shrimp and the noodles, her stomach growled in hunger, he chuckled listening to that. She kept the cold look on her face.

"You're hungry, aren't you?"

She nodded, she was hungry, she felt like she hadn't eaten in days.

"Here." his voice soft, he picked up a fork and rolled the noodles in the utensils holding it in front of her mouth, like an instinct her mouth watered and she leaned her head forward to eat it, but he moved it back that instant, she knew it! This was some game of his.

"Not this way." He laughed at how tense she got, she was seriously on the verge of crying. He shook his head then, "No, no Elena, I was kidding , all of this is yours it is." He cooed, she looked up from her lap, tears rolling down her cheeks, as she looked at the food. "All you have to do is be a nice little girl, have some manners, be a little thankful to your host."

She frowned at his words, she felt her throat dry, too dry to talk, "What do you want?"

"Show me you're thankful."

"Arghh I."

He interrupted her by pushing the fork into her mouth that instant, she wasn't going to protest, she ate whatever was on the fork, he pulled the fork back and smirked, "See how good that tastes right?"

She nodded, "Thank you."

"Aww that's like a good girl." He patted the side of her face and sighed, "Now do you want more?"

She nodded, he pouted, "O fcourse you do, now that you know how good it tastes-"

"Kol please just give me the damn-"

"No! No absolutely not sweetheart you don't get to talk to me that way, you want more, you gotta be nicer."

"What do you want?"

"You know what I want? I want you to be mine, I want you to accept me Elena." He kept the bowl aside and her eyes just kept staring at it as he spoke, "I fucking hate it that I have to do this to you, I don't want to fuck you without you wanting it."

"Kol you're sick! You know I am married!" she spat and finally was able to look away from the food, "If you had been stalking good enough you must know I am in love with someone else."

"So why'd you let Tyler Lockwood near you Elena." He said suddenly, she was shocked for a second but then she realized, he knew everything, "It was just to make a statement in front of Damon, and I didn't do it."

"Elena what the hell is stopping you now? You know he doesn't want you, he doesn't love you like I do, he cant imagine loving you that much." he gritted his teeth moving forward and cupped the back of her hair, holding her head up, she winced, "You don't love me, you are obsessed with this screwed up idea."

"You think that? I've always fucking loved you, I kicked my family for you!" he growled and gripped her hair harder, "I would give up everything unlike your precious "husband", who is here because of Klaus." He spat, "Not because he wants to take you away from the city and it's pollution, or so that you could roll around on the beach, he is here because Klaus is here, and Klaus is here because I wanted him here, if your husband weren't such a selfish prick, you'd still be home, away from the man , you call sick, with the person you call the love of your life- who doesn't care, simply doesn't give a fuck about you."

Every word from his mouth sliced her heart further, she closed her eyes to stop the further tears, another lie, the reconciliation was based on a lie? How could Damon do that to her? he had no respect for her whatsoever and he claimed he loved her? Kol was more believable than Damon at this point, and this kidnapper was a sick man!

"Please let me go."

"For what? So you can beg him to come back to you?" he pulled at her hair at this point her skull was burning, "Elena if you don't give this up soon, I'll be forced to do this without you wanting it." He let her hair go and held her shoulders, "I don't want to have my way with you and then cut you to pieces for your dear husband to pick up- because you know that, if I can't have you, no one else is going to. Not that Italian bastard certainly."

(-HM-HM-HM-HM-)

"How much do you have to cover; it's a fucking box, this place isn't that big!" Damon shouted at Enzo on the phone, "I'll fucking kill you all, you have the idea right? I want my fucking wife away from that sicko, and if she is not here by sunset Enzo, you'll not be so safe yourself."

"I am trying Boss, we've spread men all over, he cant get out of here."

"Well if you're so efficient why is my wife kidnapped? The guy you appoint here schemes to kidnap my wife with that son of a bitch, I swear if you don't find Elena, you'll be very sorry." He growled and shut the phone, at that exact instance, his phone beeped and he picked it up, "Calm down Gray."

"Damon, anything happens to Elena-"

"I know, I know, I'll find her, he is on the island." He continued as he walked back to their room for the hundredth time maybe and looking for anything that would indicate where he could be, that's what he had been doing, going back and forth between the living room and his room- to find anything, it had been over a day that she was gone and he was getting very concerned , Kol could seriously harm her, he could damage her physically and mentally. He didn't want that for her. He didn't want her to go through anything. "You don't have to come Gray." He said after hearing Grayson ramble for over five minutes, "We are handling it."

"You are handling it? My daughter is kidnapped, do you even care?" he spat, "Once I find Elena, I am taking her home with me."

"Gray shut up." He said in a cold , detached voice, he didn't want to hear about being an asshole from a man who was a redeemed asshole. Right when he was about to leave the bedroom again, something caught his attention, the magazine she was reading on the plane, had a paper in it, a notepad paper, he walked to the nightstand and flipped the magazine open, listening to Gray's threats, his eyes fall on the thick paper, it was a sketch, not complete – but he could tell it was his picture, his heart started aching looking at it, maybe she made it when he fell asleep on the plane.

"I made a mistake thinking you'd protect my daughter, you upset her, you don't take care of her!" Gray's yell broke through his thoughts and he didn't know how to calm Gray's temper. "I am on it, trust me, Elena will be home safe by sunset." He didn't hear to more of Gray's threats and shut the phone, everything was crushing him, he felt failed right now, he knew it wasn't time to let yourself fall, but just because of one stupid fight, Elena was in actual danger, she was unknown to it. Just looking at the sketch broke his heart over and over. He wanted to just have a sign so he could find her, and nothing would ever hurt her again, whether it was some psychopath or him.

(-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-)

Her excitement was growing, the ropes were not as tight and she could feel that with a good tug she'd be able to free her hands, she dragged her hips forward and pulled at her restraints, as planned, they came right off, she took a breath of relief and pulled out her hand, it was covered in dirt and sweat, threads from the rope stuck in her nails, she quickly reached for her feet a and pulled at them wildly, she couldn't wait to get out of them. Now she just had to wait for the gate to open once, hit him or just sneak, she crawled and then stood on her feet once she felt some what blood flow, "Ahhh." Her feet hurt from being tied so much, her intuition just suggested to run, no solid plan whatsoever. The floor felt like a landscaping of gravel, it wasn't smooth and since Kol had taken off her shoes, it wasn't pleasant to walk on it, she however managed to hide behind some oil drums she saw on one side, she sat against them waiting for his next appearance, or anyone for that matter. She couldn't depend on any 'saving' anymore. She was tired of this, at this point she felt like she had nothing lose, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She steadied her breaths and looked around for any sort of weapon, as if god sent- her eyes stopped on the four to five long steel bars- she crawled forward making minimum noise and picked out the one which wasn't longer than her height. If she didn't feel so weak from being dehydrated and hunger, she could hold it better, it felt heavy, she picked it up and practiced to keep it steady. Just then she heard noise at the far end, her heart picked up pace and she settled back behind the drums, 'This is not a game Elena-one shot.' What if she hit him and he died? She didn't feel like she was capable of killing someone. She had to get out because he would kill her if she didn't.

Surprisingly, when he saw her place empty- he didn't make any sudden movements or showed he was shocked, he sighed as if disappointed and shook his head, "Come on baby, I know you're here somewhere. I know exactly where."

She took in a breath and felt herself involuntarily moving back.

"This is perfect, I love this game, but you know Elena, if I win- I will fuck you." He said in a sing song voice. She clenched the rod tighter in her hands when she heard his steps coming closer, "And I'll keep you forever Elena, I have the perfect little room for you, with everything you like."

She rolled in her lips, not wanting to make a sound before her attack but before she could launch on him, The drums infront of her was punched away, a shriek left her and she fell back as a reflex, the gate was open, one hit.

"Ko-Kol Stop!"

"You're fucking stupid aren't you?" he cocked his head to a side, "to think you are in control, you had enough time in control, the camera didn't show you holding that thing, now give me it."

Ofcourse a camera.

"NO!' she screamed and stood up on her feet, "DON'T YOU DARE COME FORWARD." She threatened him and backed away from him, "oh! I am scared." He mocked, the next second he pulled out his gun, "See that?"

"You'll shoot me?" she asked in disbelief, "You say you love me!" she screamed, this time she saw the expressions on his face change, "You tell me you love me and there you are pointing a gun at me, how am I suppose to trust you? How? How do you expect me to fall in love with you."

"You'll never fall in love with me." he spat.

"I never wanted to fall for my husband but you saw that happen didn't you, and you're being exactly like him, you want to hurt me!" she said with tears filling her eyes, she could see she made him guilty, he shook his head, "I am nothing like him Elena, I would leave anything to be with you, I am not a selfish money hungry bastard like him." He looked at the gun in his hand and then her , then swallowed thick, pulling the magazine out, she saw him throw the bullets near his feet, "I can't hurt you."

"I know you won't." she took a sigh and wiped the tears from her cheeks, "Please just tie me up- I won't run away I promise."

"You do?" he asked taking a step towards her, she nodded, "I know you wouldn't hurt me, if anything you're protecting me from Klaus and you're doing a better job than Damon I guess."

"Yes, yes I am." He said smugly and walked up to her, he took the rod from her hand and threw it to the side, then he tipped her chin up, "I am not Damon, you know that right?"

his thumb rubbed against her chin, she held his arm and nodded, "We both lacked trust." She pursed her lips and squeezed his arm, "Maybe the trust issues mess with your head." She pushed his arm and kicked the best she could against his groin, he groaned and fell to his knees, she quickly reached for the rod and hit his head, he shouted trying to hold her wrist but she dug her nails into his hand getting herself free, "LEAVE ME YOU PERVERT!" when he fell back she quickly started running to the gate screaming for help. She knew he was not far behind, when she went through the gate, there wasn't any light, maybe they were in some basement, because she located stairs, she ran to the stairs and ran them up, taking two to three steps at a time, she knew he was right by the voices, before she could reach for the door, he held her back, by wrapping his arm around her middle and the other around her neck, "You fucking bitch!"

she pushed her body forward and kicked her feet, but he picked her mid-air, he swung her around and threw her down on the stair, slapped her across the face, she pushed against him and fought back, scratching him, hitting him. He held her down with one of his hand, and with his other hand pulled something out of his pocket, her eyes widened when she saw a syringe in his hand, she squirmed to free herself and shook violently to avoid it, he straddled her and grabbed her hair pulling them, he plunged the syringe in her neck and she shouted , he let it, cupping her mouth, "That's it, off to sleep now."

"Mmghh."

"I love you too." He said pulling out the syringe which he had injected into her neck moments ago

(-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-)

"We checked every room." Nick- his blonde hair in a ponytail, he was one of the expert Mafioso member of the area, his men were like sharp police dogs, they could search anyone up. Enzo walked back to the car and the window rolled down, Damon raised a brow, "She's not here, I know she cant be- we need to look in places that are less crowdy."

"That's just too easy for him, I know he wants to challenge me."

"He is known to have APD, I think he'd avoid people." Enzo looked around and huffed, "It shouldn't be this hard, it's just a hundred kilometers. But with all these private cabins-"

"I don't give a fuck about anyone's private cabin, you tell them to get out, they don't want to get out, break the door down, shoot them in the head- I want my damn wife back."

"Cabins look like a risk Boss." He pursed his lips, "We're missing something, it can't be possible, it's a kidnapping, so even if he had her knocked out, she's going to wake up, she'll scream for help, and that's trouble for him.

Damon nodded, "That must be it, she can't be in a remote crowded place, so that crosses out city center but the private cabins, it can have a basement."

"It can." He nodded, Damon got out of the car and looked around, "Rule out the ones without basements."

(-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-)

When she woke up this time, he was right there, when she looked around, this place looked different , a smaller room than the previous one, she was lying on top of something wooden, her head had a pillow under it and no surprise, her hands were tied, he was sitting by her feet, touching them every other moment, "Hey."

She huffed throwing her head on her shoulder, "Where am I?"

"Umm I'd rather not tell you." He pouted, then let his hand touch her ankles, "How's your neck? Look I wanted it to be painless, but hey, I don't do this daily and you were very jumpy."

She bit her lip now actually starting to feel the pain in her neck and the shoulder near to that side, when she looked down to see she could definitely see a green-blue dark spot. "Guess you don't trust me afterall."

"And I shouldn't! after that little stunt you pulled." He rolled his eyes and leaned forward, "You're so proud of the fact that you tricked me, that you used something Damon taught you."

"The kick in the balls? That's all Bonnie." She moaned pulling away from him, he nodded "Well I am helpless, that I am so irreversibly in love with you."

She groaned as he got up, hands on his hips, "In fact I brought you something, you'll love it, it'll definitely give you some closure."

She narrowed her eyes, 'What'd you do?"

"I am not going to ruin the surprise." He grinned and walked across the wooden structure to get close to her, he loosened the ropes around her waist and allowed her to sit up, boat, she was on top of a boat that was flipped over, rods- wood, oil- this was a dockyard. A fucking dockyard. He went out of the room and a minute later entered with a large bag that was over his shoulder, he was out of breath carrying it on his shoulder, he put it down in front of her and smiled at her, "It's not your birthday, but consider it a 'meeting present'." His eyes twinkled.

She swallowed thick looking at the dark blue bag skeptically, "What is it?"

"Oh you want me to open it?" his pupils dilated in excitement and he held the zipper at the top, "close your eyes."

"Kol." She said worried, "What did you do?"

"CLOSE-YOUR-EYES." He said with gritted teeth , suddenly so serious, she shuddered and closed her eyes that instant.

She heard the zipper open but she didn't open her eyes, she didn't want to test him, he was off his rocker. "Okay now you can look."

She swallowed thick, opening her eyes, when she looked down to where the bag was previously, a scream left her mouth, maybe the loudest she has ever screamed , even though she was tied , she pulled back and cried, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"

Right in her feet was a dead body, not just any dead body- it was Rose, completely naked, bruised, stab wounds all over her upper body, her eyes still wide open, but the wounds were turning all sorts of colors, looked like she was dead a while ago.

"What have I done? Don't you mean thank you?" he chuckled, "She hurt you didn't she?"

Her entire body was shaking, she was kicking to drag herself away from the body, "Please-Please get it away from me KOL!"

"Relax Elena relax." He pushed the bag from the top and moved forward, wrapping his arms around her, "It's going to be fine, relax."

"How could you this! Why? Why did you kill her?" she shook and pushed at him, "Please, please don't hurt me Kol, please!"

"No, no Elena I can never hurt you." He cooed and cupped her face, she tried to move but when she saw his eyes getting stony, she tried to calm herself down, once her eyes fell on Rose's discarded body she shrieked again, breaking into sobs, He pulled her into his arms and wrapped his arms around her, patting her hair, "Shhh, she had to die."

"No-No."

"Elena, she hurt you, I know how hurt you were seeing her around Damon, he might not know but I do, she made you insecure, I would never have let her breathe after that." He whispered against her ear, "Don't cry over her, she was a fucking bitch you know that? She wanted to hurt you, she took money from me to fuck your husband."

The words just hit like loud intolerable drums against her ears, she looked up at him, "You what?" she sniffled.

"I had to get you one way or another, Tyler didn't work like I planned so I planted Rose, she told me how your husband loved to snort cocaine off her stomach, I thought it'll work since you were being the loyal virgin, well suddenly Damon was into monogamy. She couldn't fuck him? You believe that? I give her all these months and she couldn't do it? She comes back and says, she needs time, she's making you upset and she can't even get work done, so what do I do?"

"Urghhh." She pushed her elbows against his chest to move away from him, "Oh God you're out of your fucking mind!"

"I am! I am out of my fucking mind Elena, but who made me this way, your father forced me to do this, he knew I was in love with you, he could have seen me as someone separate than Klaus and let this grow organically but NO! he closed and blocked all ways for me to see you, to hear you!, he forcefully made you marry him. I tried to get you out of my fucking head but I can't, and I've stopped trying!"

"KOl you don't love me! this is fucking sick! Don't call it love, don't expect love, because I can't love you." She shouted, but she regretted the next moment she regretted it when he got ahead and held the back of her head, slapping her so hard, she screamed, her cheek numb this time. "You have to, because you can't get out, at least not alive, you hear that, you're not walking out of here, you get that." He whispered near her hair, "You see Rose right? See what I do when I get annoyed?." She gasped when she felt a sharp textured thing pointed to her stomach, he traced it up and she looked down to see a knife, he grinned, "That's right, I am as good with a knife like I am with a gun. So if you don't want me to cut you up, stuff you into that bag with Rose and send it to Damon, I think it's best you do what I say."

She shivered from his words and nodded- he smirked, "That's like a nice girl. Now, if you thank me for the present, I'll be on my way and dispose this stinking whore to the shore, see what I did there?" he chuckled.

She looked up at him like she was disgusted by him , yet still she mustered up effort, "Tha-Thank you."

He clutched the back of her hair tighter, "That's a little dry Elena, wouldn't kill you to give a kiss, not giving it might though." She frowned and pursed her lips, swallowing thick, she knew he wasn't kidding about anything. "It's not like I am telling you to suck my cock!" he growled, she shuddered and leaned up to peck against his lips, pulling back as fast as she could, he pushed her down on the boat, "Okay, we gotta drop this one, you don't go an anywhere, I am coming back and playing with you."

She clutched her hands tightly and cringed, he dragged the body against the floor out of the room and shut the door after him, Elena took a breath of relief as tears filled her eyes, Rose's dead body was haunting her already, but she was glad about one thing, she kissed kol- he had pulled her to his lap, he didn't notice it, she had hit her closed fist against his pocket and pulled out his cell-phone, he didn't realize that she covered it with her thigh, she sat up and shoved it to the side, then bent her head reaching for it, at the same time letting her hips yank it up, once she could lean down, she pushed her nose against the main button, when it switched open, survivor spirit filled her, the password toned it down though, her mind was telling her fuck it, this was her only chance, Kol was obsessed with her! It has to be her name, she used her tongue to fill in the alphabets.

The sudden 'ding' when it opened filled her with joy, tears started rolling down her cheeks as she put her tongue on the call menu and dialed up her Dad's number, it was rejected on the very first bell, she looked around and dialed it again- not picking up.

One choice, she is stuck with a psychopath, this might be the last time ever she speaks to anyone, Kol was definitely killing her. Fuck it! She bent down again ignoring her aching neck and dialed Damon's number, she prayed on each passing caller bell that he's pick up, he didn't, she groaned in frustration and sat back, tears rolling down her cheeks. When she heard the door clicking, she pulled the phone with her side under her back and lied down on it, he came inside with a satisfied smile, "Hope you're hungry, I've got you a burger."

He sat by her side and patted her cheek, she just looked up at him blankly, hoping he'd not look for his phone, "Elena." he sighed, "Why are you making me do this?"

She didn't respond.

"I mean I don't want to hurt you, you know that right? I just want you to love me the way I love you." He leaned down and pressed a kiss against her lips, a little sound of protest escaped her mouth but she knew better than to make him angry, he made her sit up slightly and she quickly sat on top of the phone which went un-noticed to him, he took out the burger and unwrapped it, holding it in front of her, just thinking about eating it made her nauseous, he had just disposed a dead body, "I am not hungry."

"Yes you are baby, don't make me beat the shit out of you now." he smiled, "Come on." His voice got dangerous, he pushed it against her mouth and she ate a bite, then pulled back, he shook his head at her, she moved her head forward taking another bite and then sat back, "Please just get me some water, my throat hurts."

"You shouldn't have screamed so much."

"Kol please." She blinked at him, he sighed and got up, "Okay, I am going to get you a water bottle, and here you go." He kept the burger on her ankles, "You can eat it if you reach it." . Soon the light in the room was dimming, it was getting darker, so the day was over, Kol had been gone for a while and her stomach was churning with hunger, yet she wanted to throw up every time she was reminded of his present

She didn't say anything, once he was out the door, she fell back on the pillow like thing at the back of her head, her throat really hurt, just when she thought things couldn't get more alarming, the phone under her ass began vibrating, she gasped and shifted , pushing it with her legs to the side. Kol could be back any second! This wasn't the right time, but when she saw the number, her heart stopped, she pressed her tongue against the 'accept' after leaning her head down, "What's the info?" she heard Damon's voice, very in rush, very 'busy' voice.

"Damon! It's me Elena." she whispered against the cellphone and looked at the door to see if it was closed, 'what if he had a camera here?'

"ELENA? where are you? I've been looking all over? Whose cell phone are you using?" his voice as if he found the treasure chest he had been searching for.

"I am at a dockyard, I don't know, Kol -it's Kol."

"I know, I know don't worry baby, you're going to be okay, just tell me what this place looks like, give me a little hint."

Tears filled her eyes, "It's, it's old and closed, it has old boats and empty oil drums, I don't know, I don't know!" she cried, "He's sick! He'll kill me."

"That's not going to happen, don't freak out, I am finding this place, keep this thing on, I'll be there in no time." He barked orders around and she felt like he was driving by himself now, "Elena don't hang up keep talking to me okay?"

"Okay." She swallowed thick.

"I am on my way, I am going to find you, and I promise you I'll fix everything, I will, just don't give up on me." it sounded like a plead, she had never heard his voice so shaky and desperate, even though she tried she couldn't stop the tears running down her eyes, soon she heard the noise of someone coming downstairs. "He's coming." She whispered against the phone and pushed it back, but it slid and fell down on the floor, her eyes widened, if Kol saw it, game was over.

"I got your water." He entered the room and closed the door after himself, "I know you like the Fiji one, fun fact- I bought a whole pack of those before planning your abduction." He sat by her side and opened the bottle, "Here."

She sat up and drank it, he pulled back the empty bottle and pouted when he touched his pocket, her heart dropped, "I think I dropped my phone while dumping that bag."

"Oh." She swallowed thick, "you had a-"

He interrupted her saying, "I dropped it or maybe you stole it."

GAME OVER.

A/N: Hey guys thank you for reading, I am sorry if this is a little gore for you. I tried my best to not bring in the pervert kidnapper scenes, do review guys, it encourages the writer, thank you for the reviews! The last response was so over-whelming even though I wrote the shortest chapter.

Will Elena survive? Even if she does what's going to save her marriage? Is Kol a complete nut case? Should Elena be saved or should save herself?


	13. Ornery Scandalous

It was over, if he found the cell phone, her game was over. She just blinked acting oblivious looking by her sides, it was dark in the room, she just had her hopes that he wouldn't see it, she needed to distract him. "why would I, I am tied up.". her voice in a whisper. She heard him move back and a second later, he lit a match, his eyes looked like pure fire in the light of the flame as he looked around. "Kol Stop you'll burn your fingers." She stuttered some what. Kol ignored it as he went for the door carefully, about five minutes later he came back inside with a flashlight, through out the whole five minutes she thought he was testing her, if said Damon's name- or something, he'd know, but she felt as if the call was cancelled.

He didn't look for his phone this time and tore off her restraints, "Come on."

"Where are you taking me?" she asked scared, the burger fell down to the ground along with the water bottle as he yanked her up and dragged her out of there, her feet having no circulation were limp as he dragged her, "I know what you did."

"What?"

"Shh Elena I am taking you away, you are going to be mine now." he paused for a second before picking up a rope from the ground and pushed her on the ground on her stomach, he straddled her and tied both her hands extending the rope to her neck and tying a loop there, "Just for a while I promise."

"Kol Please!" she cried against the dusty ground, he picked her up, she kept kicking her feet, "Kol Please- I won't go with him Kol , please!" she pleaded. He seemed to be deaf at this point. Soon they were outside, his men were standing there guarding the place in different huts, a few came running when he came out, "Boss."

Kol turned the flash light to him, "Damon Salvatore will be here in a while, tell him Kol Michaelson will make sure he never sees Elena again."

The man nodded. Elena shivered with Kol's words, "No-No Kol please listen to me! Help! Excuse me! Someone Help! I am Grayson Gilbert's daughter- "

Kol laughed, "Aren't you adorable." He threw her in the backseat of his car and got in the front seat to drive off of there , Elena crawled to sit up against the window to see Kol, "Kol Please, Listen to me."

"Elena calm down I am not going to do anything, just changing a location." He moved his hand back to pat her hair, "Settle down."

She bit her lip as tears ran down her eyes when she settled against her seat, they drove for a good hour before he stopped the car and turned back to look at her, "I am going to get you some new clothes, and some food. Okay? You want food?" he asked, his voice almost like a normal human being rather than a serial killer, Elena stirred, "Hmm?"

"Food?"

Her stomach growled, she nodded, he leaned forward and tucked her hair behind her ear, "Anything else? Does your neck hurt?"

"Yes." She answered in a whisper. His hand brushed against her bruise as he moved forward more and kissed the top of her head, "It'll be okay, I'll get you something for it." He got out of the car and locked her there. It was a deserted gas station so she couldn't exactly attract public and even if she did , she was sure Kol would do something to them, soon Kol was back with full bags and got inside , kept the bags as he jumped back to the back seat, "So I got you some chips and a few cupcakes, hey I know for a fact you like apple juice." She let out a humorless chuckle as he unpacked the food and began feeding her, she avoided his gaze on her mouth the whole time, it was almost penetrating, "I know you hate me." he murmured, he actually sounded sane right now, she looked up from his hand to his face and sighed, "I never wanted for this to happen, I tried so much."

"Kol why are you so fixated on this unrealistic relationship?" she frowned, but her voice low and sympathetic, he pursed his lips , sitting back, "I've always let things go- I've always been the bigger person, when I was a teenager , I got the old race horse, my brothers had the fastest one, I got the areas no one wanted to work in, I am tired of being treated like that Elena, even being at your place the day I first saw you, rather than being in the Russian consignment, so what? I can keep track of our old enemies while everyone else in my family made money, grew bigger and powerful, and it was all because Klaus thought of me and Elijah as his personal slaves! Then I saw you there, and like I've been obsessed with anything I never got, I fell in love with you." He sighed, then looked at Elena swallowing thick, "I sent a private proposition to your father that I'd work for him in his enemy's family if he lets me near you. But he thought of it as another Michaelson scam and blocked me out completely, he even let my family know about it boasting about how he had cracked our plan. Then I went insane." He clenched his fists, "I cant always step away, you know how it feels to never get what you want! To be told to stay in my lane, well look at me now, I showed everyone right? He thought a marriage will be able to stop this? What I feel for you? This once in my life, I'll get what I want!."

"Kol." She murmured, "I am sorry about all of this, I am- but you have to understand that, even if you love me-this intensely, I hardly know you other than a man who kidnapped me, hit me. If you think-"

"I know I know, I want one day with you-just one day Elena, I promise this will be over if you give me one day, just one day of complete honesty, of you not trying to get away from me, so I can live my life, I need one day Elena." his expression pretty serious, she frowned, "What do you mean?"

"You came here for a vacation, just travel with me for a day, not trying to get help, not trying to kill me." he offered, "And I'll give you your freedom."

(-HM-HM-HM-HM-)

Damon picked up the cellphone from the floor and looked at it, the place, a crushed burger , water bottle, blood, a syringe, ropes. He walked outside where Enzo had two men on their knees, their eyes black, head bleeding, barely still, Damon sighed and held a man's chin up, "Do you want to tell me now?"

"You'll never see her! That's all he said." The spit and blood dripping down the sides of his mouth, Damon nodded, "Okay then, I guess this is Good bye for you." He held his gun against the man's temple, as he clutched the back of the man's hair in his fist and shot him, the scream from his mouth was silenced by the gunshot and Damon moved to the next guy, "Where are the rest of you?"

The man shivering, "He told us to go back, he said he's never coming back, it was a few days ago, he plans to-"

"to what?" Damon spat and held the gun against his forehead, "We tried to stop him, we did , but he planned a double suicide."

Enzo frowned and kicked him forward, "What do you mean? That nut job knows Signora doesn't want to die right?"

"What the fuck are you asking him for? Find that psycho before he kills my freaking wife." Damon shouted at Enzo and turned to the guy on the floor, shooting a bullet straight into his shivering head. "Come on."

(-HM-HM-HM-HM-)

Elena didn't know how but she was untied , making no move to run, sitting in the front seat, it was so crazy that till last night Kol made her sick and now she was finding some comfort since the day she had landed here, all physical and mental agony was oxidizing from the top of her skin, Rose was dead, Damon never cheated- Damon did want to hurt her by threatening her about the baby, he lied to her about the trip and broke his promise, which he didn't planned to even make since the start. Everything about them was a lie , seemed like all the relationship was based on her weak attempts. When did she became so desperate, just like Kol, less crazier than him though, he was driving, moving his head to the song on the radio, she bit her lip and clicked the button to change it, sitting back again, He looked at her and grinned, "Sorry I don't have MCR cd's."

"You didn't plan that?" she raised a brow. He shook his head, "It was a last-minute plan."

She nodded and put her feet up on the dash, lying back, "Where are we going?"

"On a picnic, easy." He smiled at her, the word picnic reminded her of her first time outside with Damon, the unusual picnic, now it all seemed like memories that hurt. If she ever goes back, will she be the same Elena? Will it be easy to love like it had been? Will she ever trust anyone again. Maybe she needed this day more than Kol, to not think about her life, the person who tore her heart to pieces, who didn't care about her feelings, who was so selfish. She always knew what this relationship was going to be, she always knew how men of Mafia were like, then why did she let herself fall for him, she can't deny this truth anymore, she didn't want this kind of life, she should have never bought into this whole idea of family of his. His only concern was him. She was tired of catering to his wishes, trying to be perfect for him. Well whatever his idea of perfect was, a quiet smiling wife with kids who didn't care about the murders.

Soon they stopped near another dockyard, however it was much different , it gave her shivers, he went out first, locking the car and then came back, "I got our stuff."

"What are we doing here?" she asked as she got out of the car, he held her hand, "Honey a yacht date is the best date."

She didn't say anything as he lead her to a huge white yacht that had been parked previously and now was being prepared for boarding, "Everything we'll need is there."

She remained stony, she didn't have any clue what was going on but she knew that running away was no use, trying was no use and right now accepting her fate was only what she could do, feeling hate for the Mafia, she got in that Yacht, changed into the little yellow sundress he had given her along with a blue kimono. She sat on the white couch in the deck and drank a glass of water waiting for him to show up.

"Elena." He waved as he appeared from the small living area, "So you wore the dress I gave you."

She gestured to the dress and sat back, he sat by her side and put his hand on her thigh, "It's kind of ironic that your kidnapper is giving you the vacation you wanted right?"

She smiled after a sigh, "I thought we were going to pretend like you didn't kidnap me."

"Oh the way you glare, it's hard to forget."

She rolled her eyes, "Like that has stopped anything. Look I don't want to run and I sure as hell can't win in a fight and even if I do, the guy waiting back at home is a liar I can't believe anymore, who by the way is divorcing me."

He raised his eyebrows, "So you're saying it couldn't be worse- then why would you call him?"

"I don't know, I am stupid." She bit her lip, "I wanted to see him one last time- but I guess that'll hurt more." She swallowed thick, "I can't fight anymore, not for freedom not for love." He looked at her for a whole minute before his hand started stroking her hair, she kept back from moving away and pissing him off, soon he was stroking her skin, placing kisses against her hands, her arms to her neck, she shut her eyes tightly as tears poked at them, "You know what Elena? This is exactly how much it hurts when you push me away." He parted from her body and cupped her face, "But look at me, I just jump right back into loving you, and I am sure once I let you go, you'll be back to him, and I'll lose this again."

She frowned as he spoke. He grinned, "So here we are Elena, we put an end to you and me, both hopelessly in love with people they can't have."

Her lips parted as she tried to get away but he held her arms bringing her back, "This world means nothing Elena, it's unfair, it's wrong- see how the world has given me the power right now, I can do whatever I want to you, and you are helpless, see how bad the world is." He held her arms and spoke to her, "Kol you promised you wouldn't hurt me."

"I promised I'd let you go." He winked, and pulled her on top of himself, "I won't lose this time Elena." his hands moved to take off her kimono, and she knew what was about to happen, she hit her elbow against his face and jumped off him, running to the living area, she shut the door after herself and locked it, the very next second she could hear loud banging against it, he was going to break it come in any second, rape and kill her.

"Open up Elena, I know how much you like to swim, see you die doing what you love." He growled, Elena looked around the room to find something for defense, anything as the knocking got louder and louder.

(-HM-HM-HM-HM-)

"They spotted him here boss, we even found these clothes in the trash." Enzo passed the torn rag likes to Damon and he immediately recognized them, white shirt and jeans. "So where are they headed?"

"The man said they both looked okay, he wasn't forcing her to do anything. She changed her clothes, then dumped the old ones, he's pretty sure he went to the west side." Enzo looked in the direction, Damon's phone rung and he immediately picked it up, "okay, okay we'll check it, just send me the location."

Enzo raised a brow as if asking, Damon huffed, "They were shopping at the city center, then bought lunch, not seen after that." He didn't know why Elena wasn't screaming for help, Maybe she had just given up on everything- he had to find her before that sick psycho kills her. They got in the car and began driving that way, Damon checked the map, pointing various points where they could be, "He's confusing us, he's going in public, then he completely disappears, he just wants to show off."

"Oh I get my hands on that psycho-" Enzo gritted his teeth, "He can't be in city center anymore, our men are everywhere."

"Well the day is ending and according to that guy-"

"He's going to kill signora." Enzo completed, Damon looked at him and sighed, "No I won't let him do that, I need to concentrate, call up Louis, ask him to track Kol's car, call Nick and get the number of his car right now, we don't have much time."

Soon they were forced to take a U-turn and drive back because of the car's position, Kol had got them in circles, even though the island wasn't so long, it seemed like both of them were vanished. "Not seen at the airport." Enzo disconnected the call and looked at him for a brief second, Damon wiped the sweat off his forehead, sunset was near and as dark was setting in he was getting nervous, what if he never sees Elena ever again, what if Kol succeeds in his plan? He couldn't afford that at all, he didn't care about Kol, he just wanted Elena to be safe, He sat up and looked at the map again, "airport and city center is crossed, private cabins? We've threatened them enough. So where in the hell is she? Its like the island swallowed her" he looked down at the map and frowned, "Water."

"What?"

"There's a boatyard about sixty kilometers from the city center right?" he traced it on the map, "He wants us to check places with crowds, I am sure he has Elena here, come on , we need to get there."

(-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-)

Elena could hear the loud banging vibrating each piece of furniture she had put against the door, he was getting furious, he walked over to the window, looking furious, "Open up Elena." The window was hard so even if he pushed against it, it wouldn't break, she backed away from it anyway, he went away and a second later got back with a heavy andiron, he hit it against the window, but it didn't break just a little crack, Elena knew if she didn't do anything soon, she'd die, she moved back to the wall as tears started rolling down her eyes, her body was shivering, she could see death grasping her with icy hands. She broke down in sobs and gave her head in her hands, pulling at her hair, as he hit different objects against the window with more intensity, she heard the window crack and her heart sank, she shook and screamed, "NO! Please Kol! No!" he held the back of her hair and held her up, "How did you ever think this will work Elena? You're so stupid?" he threw her on the floor over the glass and straddled her , pinning her hands to the side, She screamed, "Let me go! – Let me go Kol!" her hands bled, his teeth tore the top of her dress and he bit her neck so she'd stop resisting him, he winced when his hand brushed against a little glass and that very moment Elena grabbed a large piece cutting her hand deep In the process as she thrusted it into his back, he growled and slapped her, "You bitch!"

"You wanted an end well this is an end!." She spat and kneed him, he pulled her hair making her fall against the ground as he tried to control her and pull out the glass from his back. She scratched his arm and moved away from him screaming when a glass shard injured her barefoot. She picked up the andiron and hit it against his arm, "Leave me! Leave me!"

"NO!" he growled, his hands scratched at her shoulders, "You die with me!"

A sudden shot paused the fight and they could hear more engine sounds as if more boats- he looked at her and slapped her across the face, before he could muff her cries , she crawled away from him shouting "HELP!"

"Don't do this Elena, Don't make me kill him!"

"Fuck you!" she kicked at his chest, he groaned and fell back, the glass went further into his back and he screamed, Elena quickly jumped out the window and walked stumbling to the deck, "HELP! Someone HELP!" she looked around , the yacht was surrounded by motorboats.

"Elena!"

She turned around to see her husband climb in with four more men, who went to fight the driver probably. Damon wasn't the happiest seeing Elena covered in blood from head to toe but at least she was alive, he rushed to her , while she walked stumbling towards him, "Help me please! He'll kill me."

"Stop!" Kol warned, Elena looked over her shoulder to a covered in blood Kol, his white shirt almost red now, he was holding a revolver to her, right about seven feet from her, "Stop it Damon, I am sure you've not come all this way to take her home dead."

"You fucking son of a bitch." Damon seethed, "What do you want?"

Kol smirked, "I just want to win Damon and I will." He winked –" Let me go or I'll shoot our little bundle of joy."

"Look you fucker-"

"Ah-ah-ah." Kol laughed as he got ahead, dragging one of his feet and let his hand around her waist keeping the gun at her temple, "One of these and you become a widower."

"Okay, don't shoot just go!" Damon seethed, "Don't hurt Elena!"

"How romantic." He rolled his eyes and stepped back with Elena, "Don't worry baby I'll come back for you, I promise." He kissed her temple as he went to the very edge and gestured the men to get away from the empty motorboat, "Just for a pay back sweetie." He pushed her and aimed the gun at her leg, shooting once, she screamed as she fell down forward and he backflipped from the boundary. Damon quickly got ahead and held her in his arms, "Elena, oh God." He hugged her close to him and let out a sigh of relief, "Thank god I found you."

She swallowed thick, "My leg."

He looked down at it and nodded urgently, "Hold on Baby, I'll get you to the hospital okay. Shh it's going to be okay." He said while picking her up from the floor.

(-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-)

A/N: Short chap but hey she's safe now! what do you think will happen next, please read my new story "Save all your dirtiest jokes for me" and please review this one, having a bad day


	14. You're everything i need and more

Her leg was propped up on two pillows, a novel on her lap, she was trying her best to avoid the circumstances going around in her own house, initially she thought her leg was going to be no good but the it had been a 'skin wound', that touched her but hadn't caused any damage to the bone, it had been eight days to that and the trauma from the event wouldn't let her rest for a minute, even though Kol wasn't here, the traumatic memories were there every second of every day, Kol had engraved his existence into her brain. No matter how many books she read, how many people she talked to, he wasn't going to leave this way.

Just when she was going to put the book down, the door to her room opened and she saw Jeremy peek in, "Hey, are you by yourself?"

"Ahuh." She forced a smile, Jeremy was just by her side all the time, trying to distract her, she didn't want to disappoint him that it wasn't working, he came inside and walked to her bed, he sat down on the silky rose gold sheets. Her room had always been princess themed, her sheets always of soft silk, the walls a pale white with some light pink shadow thrown in, a body mirror decorated with butterfly shaped lights, a whole queen wardrobe inside with separate shelves for footwear, clothes and accessories, along with a long vanity facing the bathroom. Her family pictures on the walls along with some paintings she made before getting married and leaving this place, she had missed her room.

Jeremy jumped to sit by her side and picked her book up from her lap tossing it aside, "See that's where all that gloomy stuff comes from."

She rolled her eyes as he messed the top of her hair, "So I thought we can arrange a movie in the basement, we can do all that- what is that her highness would want to watch?"

"Arghh Jer I am not in the mood." She said turning around to set her pillow down, so she can lie down, he picked up the pillow mockingly, "Come on Elena, I'll watch your chick flicks or whatever bullshit you want me to see damn it, just talk to me."

Elena pursed her lips, "Chick flicks is the last thing I want to watch and you know why."

He huffed loudly and moved to lie down opposite to her, "Damon and Dad are still deciding about where we can move you next."

"Damon is not going to decide anything." she gritted her teeth, his name made her angry, yet he was all she wanted to hear about, any information, anything he said- whenever he'd come to see her, she'd not let him meet her, or just stay quiet the entire time he'd be standing outside, asking if he can come in, it wouldn't have happened if that day she hadn't protested that she wanted to go home with Grayson- followed by loud persuasive crying, he eventually gave in and let Grayson take her home, only to show up the next day and be boycotted this way.

"Elena stop being so emotional, do you think anyone's going to consider feelings when your life is in question?"

She looked completely firm on her statement, "I don't need his protection, and if you are here to take his side you might as well leave Jer."

Jeremy narrowed his eyes on her and though Elena hated to see him disappoint him she had no choice , she swallowed thick looking away as if asking him to go, he moved to get up from the bed, "You're my sister Elena , I can't take his 'side' or whatever is that you say, but you and I both know Damon saved you, and he's the only person who can get rid of Kol, the only reason he'll do it is because he cares about you, how much is it going to take to forgive him? What if he gives up and you lose him for good? Do you want to be the new Miranda Gilbert?"

She tensed up at Jeremy's words, clutching her sheets tightly, "You can say whatever you want to say Jeremy, and maybe you're right, but I am done being the ball that all of you are tossing, so save your whole 'speech'." He shook his head and turned around to go outside, "Elena you need to be less sensitive for once."

She refrained from replying to him, as she sunk further into the bed pushing a pillow against her head and hiding under it, as if it would block the voices, the whispers- the images from her head.

The next time she woke up, she didn't even know she had been sleeping for how long now? She didn't remember but someone was knocking at her door, Before she could ask, a voice stopped her.

"Elena it's me, Damon." Her husband's voice soft and like a plead, "Is it okay if I come in?"

She licked at her dry lips and swallowed thick, sitting up properly, a weird sweat on her forehead which she wiped off quickly, "Come in." her voice low, but she was sure he heard it, a moment later, the door knob turned and her heartbeat stilled for a second before racing faster than ever, he stepped inside the room, wearing a dark maroon V-neck with jeans, he looked relieved when he saw her, he closed the door after him and walked inside, looking around for a moment before standing by her bed side, "How are you now?" his hand on its own touches her bandage slightly, "I am okay, I just had some trouble last night." She muttered almost wanting to make less conversation, he nodded and sat down in the little space in front of her, his hand patting her foot lightly, "Gray said you had a bad fever last night."

"Just a fever Damon."

"We probably should talk about some things that happened Elena." He said suddenly breaking the silence of a few moments, she bit her lip and shook her head, "I don't think there's anything to talk about."

"Well how am I suppose to take you home if you're-"

"I am not going anywhere, this place is my home, my family lives here." she bit out each word,making sure to tell him whatshe was talking about, she was expecting him to be angry in response, but a little smile spread across his lips and he lowered his head a little so she wouldn't see it, "What are you laughing about?" she asked feeling a bit insulted.

"My apologies." He looked up, his hands in surrender, "It's just I can see it when you want to be convinced against what you say."

"You're incorrigible." She spat and ran a hand through her hair, "I am not looking to be convinced Damon, I don't want to go anywhere with you or be with you, like you said it's best if we annul this marriage."

"I am not ending this marriage." He said as if it was ridiculous to think about it, "I wouldn't risk my ass and go after a psychopath for a woman who plans on leaving me later."

She clutched the sheets again preparing herself to shout at him again, "Damon I will seriously-"

"This is not up for discussion, we are married, as an equal part of this marriage , I don't think we should part ways, so the annulment is out the window." He said with a crooked smile, she narrowed her eyes, "What's wrong with you Damon? Is this a joke to you? Our marriage, me? because that's what you acting like."

"Elena-"

She interrupted, "Just leave me alone, I don't know why I talked to you in the first place because all you did was hurt me over and over, you lied to me more times than I can count-"

"I didn't lie to you because I wanted to,I always had a reason to do it, I was forced in front of the situation-" she chuckled humorlessly, "Oh right, 'you had to', you had to make up the whole honeymoon thing to go after Klaus, so you can claim some power! While putting us both at risk, even when I told you- made you promise that you wouldn't do all this there, I find out from Kol, freaking KOL! That you lied again."

He got ahead to hold her down but she pushed him, "You promised me Damon, you looked me right in the eye and promised me that you'll do what I want." She shouted as tears filled her eyes- she pushed at his chest, "Elena I had to protect you- I know, I know I lied to you but you were being stubborn, my plan was to finish the Michaelson brothers while keeping you comfortable there."

"You could have told me, we were supposed to be a team." Her voice cracked a little, she sniffled, "I hate that you don't trust me enough to tell me about it, you have to lie to me all the time."

"Baby I know it's my fault, everything is- but don't hate me." he said softly, getting ahead he cupped her face, he wiped the tears from her face, "I don't know how we both just blew it the other night, we both know that fight meant nothing, we can easily talk about those things- the important thing is that-we can't be far away like this."

"Damon i-"

"I didn't mean anything I said, I was going crazy that day, I know I screwed up with the Rose thing, baby, but I wouldn't ever think of cheating on you, I am physically not capable enough- that's what you do to me-" he pursed his lips, "I love you and I need a chance."

Her lips parted , she felt lost in his deep blue eyes, there was this thing again that he was so good at, manipulating her by looking at her with those shining blue orbs or his, then she blinked and moved back a little, "I can't think about you right now Damon, I am hurting; I just want to get over the whole mess with Kol. I don't think I am in the position to be with-"

"I know." He interrupted, his voice soft, his hand slid down her cheek to hold her hand, he squeezed it, "And I think I should be here, listen to what's bothering you, I don't want you to go through this alone Elena, I know you need me right now and you need to accept it, no matter how stuck you are on this and for how long- I don't care, you have to let me in." his other hand moved to stroke her hair, tucking it behind her ear, the feeling of his fingers against her cold skin gave her an odd comfort as if was soothing everything down in her body by just a mere touch. "Come on Elena, what are you thinking about?"

She licked at her lips, shaking her head and dragging herself away from him, "Stop it Damon."

"Stop what?"

"You lied to me, you broke my heart , everything that happened is because of this, I have to live with Kol's deranged personality engraved into my memory, or maybe die, maybe I will die."

"Elena I'll never let that happen." He said with a deep breath, disappointed that she wouldn't let him near her, she wasn't convinced, "All your promises are just a bunch of lies to me, you wanna be there for me today and just a moment later you decide otherwise, maybe that's how your life works."

"Oh god." He said with a sigh of exhaustion as he palmed his face, "I get it, you've sworn you're never going to give me a second chance, I know you're scared- Elena I am not here to leave, I am not here so you can forgive me, I am here to make up for it, I know you don't trust me right now but you will."

"I trust you Damon, I trust you way too easily and it always ends up bad for me, right now, I feel like I am starting to believe what you say, but I don't have courage to do what you want, I feel like a burden on myself, on everyone who has to be with me and feel like they have to make me smile or laugh or anything." she pursed her lips, her eyes still watery, she rubbed her palms against them, keeping from more tears, "Just stop making me feel this way please."

She felt the bed shift under her a little and a moment later felt his arms wrapped around her as he sat aside her, pulling her to his embrace, she tried to move away for a few moments before she gave in and let him hold her, she felt his lips press to her forehead a multiple times in soft kisses, she had missed that different fragrance of his, it was like a blanket of safety around her, the way his fingers would move through her hair like a practical confession of love, she was mad at herself for being so entangled in his charisma so easily, she felt him moving back to the pillows, settling her in his arms like a baby before he got back at stroking her hair, "Shh." He murmured against her hair, she didn't even know she had been crying against his chest. "don't cry, baby." His voice at its softest, "I haven't stopped thinking about you the moment I went out that room, I didn't even know what I was thinking- telling you to go away when I knew that isn't what I wanted and that I'd always love you no matter what, I didn't even if it was love or what love was until us, you remember the day we argued and you said you were leaving- that's when I felt like I don't want you to go anywhere, I didn't want you to get hurt- or ever lose you." He pressed a kiss to her temple, "And then from that point I guess- it just was getting stronger, I use to be so reserved over this, I'd see people happy and see families, and I knew I wanted that, but I had no clue." He looked down at her, she was pressed up against his chest, looking into the air, unblinking, tears dried on her cheeks, but he could still hear the rush of her heartbeats.

"And then I'd look at you and I'd think you're my last shot at this, not because I thought I was out of options or whatever , it's just- you felt right, even though we are so different as people but I was ready to do anything in order to make you feel the way I felt for you." His hand brushed against her cheek, he lifted her chin, so she'd look at him, "But I made you feel, didn't I?"

"Like that's hard." She huffed and moved his hand out of the way, resting her head on his chest, "It's not that hard to love you."

"It's impossible." He chuckled.

"It isnt, it's just hard to deal with it. It's just very difficult to convince myself that even if you love me, there are things you love more." She breathed out, he knew what she meant, he stroked her cheek making her look up at him again, "It isn't about love, Elena, do you seriously think I love this more? I don't even think I can associate the word with mafia, but just think of how irrational that is, right now? When I have to save you."

Her lips parted slightly but she didn't say anything. as if she let it go again, "No- talk." He said in a little strict way, "Tell me."

"And what about fun Damon? You can't lie-this gives you a kick, you love being drunk and gambling with other criminals and dons, doing drugs-"

He interrupted, "I don't know when is the last time I did all that Elena, it's hardly about that, maybe sometimes I do want to go and waste a few nights like that but I don't love it more than you, I don't even love it- I am not going to go crazy without like I am going crazy without you."

A few moments of silence, and just looking at each other and in between before she rested her head against his chest, "I don't want Kol to hurt you- you wouldn't even have that psychopath in your life if it weren't for me."

"Stop blaming yourself Elena." He pressed a kiss to her hair, "He can never hurt me physically, but he did hurt me by hurting you and I am not letting him go for that, not this easy"

"Damon please. "she pleaded, "he's crazy."

"Well I am crazier, as soon as you get better and I take you to a safer place, Kol is going to meet his very asked for punishment, I am going to make him beg for his death."

She felt shudders from his words, the way his voice would change from the topic alone just gave her chills, but then she remembered Kol, how insane he has been, "Whatever we might be right now, I don't want you to get in trouble, not even if it's for me, he isn't worth it Damon. Not worth losing you." She swallowed thick, listening to her slightly shaky voice, he smiled a little, "You won't lose me"

"Another promise." She huffed.

"A fact." He said cheekily and cupped her face, His eyes on her lips, she felt her cheeks go crimson from his gaze on her lips, his thumb brushed against her lower lip parting them and she sighed, giving in to him, his mouth crashed on hers, parting slightly only to kiss her again, his hand moved to the back of her neck, holding her still as his tongue rolled on her lower lip demanding entry, she moaned opening her mouth for him and clutched his shirt in her fists when his tongue touched her , moving with hers slowly- she knew this was going to happen, once she lets him see her- he'd break her this way and as if she was dying to be broken this way, why was she so desperate for him and his love. When in the world did he became a necessity, she immediately felt alarmed and pulled back- he pecked her, cupping her face again, "Damon please-"

"What?" his voice in whispers, "Stop pushing me Elena, wasn't all that enough torture?"

"I didn't intend on it." She said firmly, "Just-"

"I am not going this way Elena, I can't just fuck up anymore, now that I am sure, you're the only one that I want." He stroked her cheek, "I can wait until you want to-but don't shut me out this way."

A knock on the door, made them pull away a little and he looked back to see Grayson leaning in a little, "Damon I need to talk about something."

He bit his lip, not knowing if Elena would even let him in again, "Uh okay, coming right out Gray."

He turned to her and stroked her cheeks, "I'll be right back, love, I am going nowhere until this is okay."

"Well maybe you might just have to stay forever." She lied back on her pillow and pulled the sheet on her. Damon sighed and leant down kissing her forehead, she pushed at his chest slightly, "Don't."

He didn't respond anyway, just looked a little defeated in the moment before turning around to go, and the moment he left, she started feeling anxious and guilty again- why was she purposely trying to hurt him, reject him?" his sad eyes did things to her.

Grayson walked out of the corridor but Damon stopped him, "I have to go back in there, can we finish here?"

"How did she let you in?"

"See that's a lucky card and before it gets invalid please just finish with whatever-"

Grayson interrupted, "Kol was detected last night, he and his brother, Elijah met I think they are trying to get us to think that Kol is back in touch with them."

"Well that cant save him." He said confidently, "I'd also prefer to kill them all together, it'll save us some time and all the fucks we'd give anyway."

"Damon you can't just launch on them, we need a plan. "Grayson said firmly, Damon shook his head, "There is no plan, it's simple; I am going to make that motherfucker regret his existence and both his brothers are going to experience the very process, he fucked with my head all he wanted, but when he brings my wife into the game, I am not making any negotiations."

"so what do you think we should do? Where to start this?"

"I don't want to think about it right now, Elena is upset, I can kill them any day, but right now I don't want her to be alone even for a minutes." Grayson sighed and nodded, "You probably should- I'll check on her later too."

Damon ran a hand through his hair, "Gray- I think Elena appreciates us spending time with her more than anything." "That's not going to keep her alive Damon. He sounded angry in a way, but Damon shrugged it off, Elena was more important than anything to him, he had kept her on a lower priority for a while but now he felt like no one was worth his time like Elena.

He went back to the room, thankfully she let him in and when he got inside he knew why she didn't protested, she was asleep. Her hair spread on the pillow and she was clutching one, taking slow breathes that he could see over the blanket, he sat down on the bed, how weird was that he could watch her this way for days and not get tired- how she had become the only shot at happiness he didn't know, but he knew she was his saving grace, his beautiful angel, exactly what he had anticipated for." He moved forward stroking her leg up to her waist. She moved a little murmuring, "Damon? Come here." he was sure she was talking in her sleep because she chuckled, he got in bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her, she shivered, a little in surprise- but let her head rest against his chest. He knew he'd fall in love with her the second he saw her, she was too perfect for him, for a guy like him- she smiled as he kissed her forehead and this time she murmured, "I like that."

"I know you do baby." He chuckled thinking about how lucky he was to be with her this way, soon he'll fix all of their problems.

(-HMHMHMHMHMHM-)

SHORT CHAPTER UPDATE; I am updating all, are you guys here? did you like it? Hate it? What's up?

REVIEW.


	15. A girl who can't decide

"You look happy." Elena commented in a low voice over the video call to Caroline, Elena had earlier noticed how Caroline had been glowing. "It's all the pasta honestly, by the way I talked to Dad." She bit her bottom lip as if discussing an awkward moment, Elena balanced the Ipad on her thighs and sat up against the headboard, "What happened?"

"Nothing I didn't expect, he went berserk, the fact that Stefan walked in during the conversation, it helped, almost as if he was scared." She laughed, Elena rolled her eyes, Caroline quickly said, "Right? Stefan is harmless, well he talked to my dad, told me to go out so they can talk, and later stuff was kinda okay." She shrugged, "He's still mad at me, but not in a way where he is going to disown me." she sounded her old bubbly self again, the last time she has seen Caroline, she was too much depressed about her abnormal pregnancy, but as if she had accepted it in a way. However Elena was far from accepting the elephant in the room, talk about Damon or Kol.

She couldn't talk about either, she felt like she would never be able to move past whatever happened with Kol but then at the same time as if Damon had ruined her emotionally, she didn't what to do with either type of feelings. She was confused about what to do, on one end was her 'apologetic' husband who wants to work it all out with her, while at the other end is the husband who lied over and over, whose priorities are straight and she is not one of them. Above all that is a man, who is deranged and wants to either have her or end her. Between everything the last few days had her reaching for different types of reliefs, medicines, books, music- distractions , just everything that stopped her from falling into this dark pit.

She got up after the call ended and tried to give this light exercise to her foot, it was easier to walk now, she wore her beige cardigan and wore her slippers, brushed her hair and without making much noise she got her painting equipment. A clear canvas, a few bottles of color, brushes and a palette. She loved mixing the light colors with white and make the lighter versions of her favorite cool tone colors, soon she felt better painting her canvas a light blue all over, she let it dry for a while before starting to draw a structure for a butterfly, her mother used to love butterflies so much and she missed her today so it was the perfect 'inspiration.'

She heard the knock on her door but ignored it but after a second she heard Jeremy and she didn't have to look back to realize that he had came in anyway, "We made a studio for that."

"Don't wanna go down there, you have something to say?" she said trying to make this conversation less draining and short, "What are you working on?" the voice not of her brother, she looked over her shoulder to see Damon and Jeremy by the door, she let out a sigh of exhaustion, "I really am not in the mood for this intervention."

"Who said it was one." Jeremy chuckled and walked to the bed sitting down on it, "Consider me a medium here."

"Oh I start." Damon said in an eager tone. "I want your sister to know, this is no way of solving an issue, she needs to be more communicative here." She wanted to roll her eyes at the irony of his words, "Oh no if there's anything I learned from the Salvatore family it is that confrontation and communication is a sin."

Jeremy let his hands up in surrender, "Hey now, we are here for the constructive conversation , let's just-" Elena interrupted him putting her brush down, "You seriously brought my brother so he could defend you?" her voice harsh, He raised his brows in surprise, "You heard him, he's a medium." She shook her head and got off her stool, "This is all still a joke to you, whether it's my abduction or our failing relationship, it hurts that you invalidate my depression this way."

"I am not invalidating anything! But you literally have shut the door on me, I know I hurt you, but you hurt me too." His features no longer soft rather very sharp, "You didn't trust me- you thought of me as the menace when you know this is our life, you started making all these rules." His voice loud for the first time since the accident, "And I know there are problems but at the end of the day I know I love you."

She swallowed thick and took a step back, she palmed her face a couple times, then looked back at her canvas, "I don't want to think about this."

"So your whole problem is Kol, and we are in the process of getting rid of him." Jeremy said getting up the bed, she clenched her fist with the mention of his name, "I Don't want you guys to do anything, not even about Kol."

"And why?" Jeremy asked with a huff, "Don't tell me you have sympathy for that freak."

"I don't have any sympathy for him huh it's just that he-" she stopped talking the moment she felt Damon's eyes on her dilating as if he couldn't believe her words, "You can't be serious." She tucked her hair back, keeping one hand on her hip as she turned to Jeremy, "Can you give us some privacy for a sec."

He looked in between them for a second before he stood straight and walked out, looking completely appalled by her opinion, when they heard the door close, she took a step back to create some distance more than it was already, "I don't want a third party to hear about our private disagreements even if it's my brother."

"Understood, however I am clueless and honestly annoyed at this level of righteousness on your end." He folded his arms across his chest, she bit her lip, "Well it's a decision that is mine to take and I don't want any sort of duel to death situation between you two."

He frowned and showed an expression of pure disgust at this point, "What is your problem? You're so into your 'I hate the mafia' thing that you would rather support a fucking stalker, a proven lunatic than me, your own husband who wants to protect you."

"And that there is my problem, I don't want you to protect me anymore, I don't want to be in a position where anyone has to risk their lives for me, especially not you." She pursed her lips and sat down on the foot of her bed, "I know who and what Kol is exactly and I know it far better than you. I know his head, every decision in my life was because someone, somewhere was trying to protect me, like my mom when she died, or like my dad when who pushed me into this marriage and now here you are, aiming for a psycho. Tables can turn Damon, there is a possibility there-"

He rolled his eyes, "So it's about that again."

"God don't be so sure Damon, he kidnapped me with you within 200 meters of that house, he can hurt you." She said with gritted teeth, "If you want to go and target him for another reason fine, but it's not going to be on my behalf. "she looked away from his condescending expressions and stood up, "I don't want to have more guilt than there is, especially if it's related to you being hurt Damon, I didn't ask for this then and not even now, I want to live a normal life and if you love me, you'd let me live it."

"Yeah I do but that means it's not going to be safe Elena, if we-"

"Well today it's going to be Kol and someone else tomorrow for whatever reason Damon, the only way I see an out if I completely cut off from this web of crime, and I asked you to do it too, but I've realized that it's not what you want, and I don't want to change you when you don't want to change, this is your life and your satisfied with it, well I am working towards my peace and satisfaction now." she ran a hand through her head, "And maybe the biggest sacrifice I have to make is us." Her eyes now unable to meet his, she knew she wouldn't be able to break this off without feeling anxious, feeling guilty for whatever reason. She heard a slight moment and was now tempted to look up, he had his composure but she could tell he was disappointed, even heartbroken but unable to show it somehow, as if she could see all the feelings- the tension in the air, yet he managed to keep his cool, "If it's what you think is best."

'Resist. Must resist the feeling of loss' the instructions kept booming in her ear, she nodded as tears started to form in her eyes, did she still want to be convinced against her decision or hear something dramatic like, 'this power doesn't mean anything, I am willing to give it up.'

But she knew it's just something that would happen in a dream and not in real life, in real life, he was practical, he may have had a lot of break ups, a lot of loss, this is what he was use to-that's what she thought, not her, a tiny stubborn voice ringed at the back of her head, asking her to negotiate whatever, however- make him stay forever.

She pursed her lips as it got awkward with the passing moments, he wouldn't say anything else, he wouldn't leave- the silence was getting painful, "Thanks- for everything." She clutched her hands tightly and gave a forced smile, the tears in her eyes were ready to stream down and even though she knew he could see it, he made no move to 'console' her. As if telling her this was the consequences of her decision. He simply nodded and it annoyed her, though she didn't want to drag this further- she didn't expect such a cold goodbye on his end, she thought he cared, yet he was acting like it wasn't a disaster in every day life, it was for her.

The ringing phone did her a favor and gave her a moment to look away from him, she coughed a little and then went to her bedside to pick up the receiver, "Hello?" thinking it might be her father, Jeremy or anyone from downstairs.

"Hey remember me? we had so much fun a few weeks ago." The whispery voice gave her goosebumps, she swallowed thick, looking over her shoulder at Damon who was slightly facing away, still standing she didn't know why, God knows.

"Why are you-"

"Less talking more listening my love, I know for a fact I didn't put you in a wheelchair, what are you doing so locked up in your room, you think that's going to save you?" he chuckled in a menacing tone, "No, absolutely not, I have my eyes on your every little move, wise move with the whole Damon thing, didn't like that guy one bit. Way too over-confident, you did a good thing now I don't have to cut him to pieces infront of you."

"How do you know that!? Where are you?" she asked alarmed, looking around as if searching for cameras, "You wont find me baby, like I said, I am watching your every move and I am so close to you Elena, more than your fucking heart."

She gasped when the receiver got snatched away from her, Damon gave her a light push to a side, talking aggressively, "Listen here you bastard! Don't think for a second you're a special sort of game or whatever you think you are, I let you go because my wife's life was on the line but as you and your limp dick brothers know, I kill people like you for breakfast, so if you have any guts instore other than those for defenseless women how about you show up and let me give you your anticipated death, you spineless pest!"

"Woah Salvatore slow down, I know it's a rough day, Elena is leaving you whatever, it's technically not your problem anymore." He laughed, Damon felt his blood boiling listening to this guy, "Oh I don't have any problems other than this fucking urge to break you bone by bone and create an example of what happens if you fuck with me." he put the receiver down and unwired it, she was still quivering from the phone call when he started looking around her room, dug into her stuff for any bugs or cameras, a "here's one." He snapped throwing a cushion on the floor, "Hmm another." His voice quick and angry. She pursed her lips, "But how did this-"

"I don't know Elena, why don't you ask your 'make me normal' fairy god mother." He threw the pillow on the floor, "Now look at me in the eye and tell me it was a good idea, Kol is a deranged psychopath and needs to be put down in other words killed, if you have so much sympathy left in that huge storage of yours, store some for me and maybe the rest of your family who might be affected if they found you dead." He spat and stormed out leaving her speechless. She didn't know what to do, the first thing her brain suggested was to leave the room immediately.

(-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-)

She never thought she'd come here in these circumstances, yet she was, Only Jeremy accompanying her as 'no one could be trusted anymore.' Not even the servants who had been working all their lives there, Kol's phone call had caused a great effect, he reminded her of dangerous he was, how dangerous he could be, every time she wanted to forget him as if he were a bad dream, he'd do something to remind her that he is very real, she had worn an oversized cap, huge glasses, an olive shirt with a big black jacket and some shorts, She had even asked Jeremy multiple times and made him wear glasses and a cap, soon they were done with airport security and had their bags, she was excited to see Caroline in person after so long, this wasn't the new beginning she longed for but at least she wasn't trapped with Kol's memories anymore. She was trying to move on from everything and trying to think past the self-pity.

"Oh God there you are." The golden-haired beauty got up from the benches and walked slowly up to Elena when she took of her glasses, she hugged her tightly, "I missed you so much."

"Me too." She pouted and squeezed her tighter, Caroline let out a squeal, "careful, we have a cupcake in the middle." She referred to her baby bump, Elena knew she'd name her kid something weird like that, considering it was Caroline's fifth month she looked very pregnant by now, Jeremy gave her a few jokes about how it looked the same as when she'd get bloated before the pregnancy, basically starting some war right there, However Elena declared herself a neutral party for them to handle, when they sat back in the car, they began to talk about the stuff they missed out on, "Italy is full of art like even nature is art, I can't explain it you , you are going to love it Elena, I am finally getting the art vibes." Caroline explained in her absurd tone and told her about all the places she had was going to visit with her, "Bonnie just hates taking pictures, I was like, hey this is literally the most aesthetic it gets and you know what that airhead says."

"What?" Jeremy asked with the fake 'Please tell me enthusiasm.' Elena chuckled and Caroline rolled her eyes, "just some stuff about being in the moment, it was crappy whatever, but hey now that you are here-"

"I am not staying with you and Stefan, Jeremy is going to get a place and till then , like two days maybe we can stay but I don't want Damon finding out." She chuckled, "What are you talking about? As if he doesn't know."

Elena nodded with a poker face and her friend sat up straight with a blank face, "Wait what?"

(-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-)

"You did what? Send her to Italy?" Damon sat up in the chair opposite to Gray, he nodded, "Well I think she's had enough, whatever I do, Kol gets to her, she was going crazy."

"Yeah so, just the real deal, why would you send her outside, to a foreign country when she isn't even safe in her own room." He stood up, "Of all the gilberts I've met, I am upset to say Jeremy is the most reliable one."

Grayson shook his head and kept his arms on the desk, "I've locked her in for almost twenty two years, I think she deserves to make some decisions for herself, I decided where she goes, what she eats, which friends she makes, the person she gets to marry and I feel like I've made a mistake because she is neither safe or happy, which were my top priorities between all this stuff." He bit his lip and sighed, "But now she says she wants to have a chance at what she wants for herself, at what she always wanted, and even though I was against it, I don't want her to hate me."

"Oh she wont hate you if she isn't alive." Damon said sarcastically, "All of you have lost your minds, but thankfully I am still okay." He rubbed his hands together , "Is she with the Blonde one."

"Caroline, yes."

"Well it means Stefan is around so I have to get there soon, Kol is going to attack, it's obvious and this time, I am not going to spare his life." He said firmly. Grayson shook his head, with a light cough, "You shouldn't do this Damon, she needs a break especially from you."

Damon frowned not understanding Grayson's concern, "So I am a bigger threat to her than that psychopath is? And you are backing her up on this? Stop it Gray, whatever our marital disagreements maybe-"

"Elena is tired of both of us, and I've told her no enough times in her life, I want her to do things her way this time or she isn't going to forgive me." he rubbed his forehead with his index finger, Damon looked at him as if he was crazy, "Forgive you for what? getting us married- did she blackmail you this way?" now he actually felt some hurt, why did she always term it that way, as if being married to him was some punishment, as if it ruined her life. Did she really think he was ruining her life?

"For her, you and I stand in the way of her happiness." Gray shrugged, "And at this point, I think I am."

"Good to know." He nodded, "Both of your views, well if she wants it so bad, she can have it." He let out a sigh, "I wont go, if that's what you are asking me for."

"Yes that is exactly what I am asking you for." Grayson gave a tight lipped smile, "But at least you can handle Butorin now that you have an opportunity, The Michaelson family is in hiding." Damon rolled his eyes at Grayson's consolation, "He isn't going to be a problem, We sent a negotiation plan, however the whole thing has turned me off, some people tried to get us angry with each other, I know there are people between you and I, working for Klaus, that want me to kill you or either you to kill me, and honestly if the whole Kol thing hadn't got us to communicate I feel like one of us might have done it."

"You think I'd kill you?" Gray looked insulted by Damon's sudden accusation but when Damon remained silent, his eyes widened a little, "You bastard- how would you ever explain it to Elena."

"Yeah I kept stalling it for that." He raised his brows at Gray and smirked, "Lets be honest, you don't have the best business record. If you did maybe you wouldn't be at war with the Michaelson family." Gray pursed his lips and stood up, turning away from him as he lit up his cigar, "That's in my past, and my wife has paid for that with her life. The motto between us had always been to exclude personal life what so ever."

Damon laughed sarcastically, "Oh right, it's not a game show Gray, no one excludes anything, once you screw up, you are responsible for whatever you or your family goes through, if it hadn't been you betraying Michael all those years ago and giving Jamaican gangsters access to him, your wife wouldn't be dead, and mine wouldn't be crazy and in danger right now."

"People make mistakes Damon, I regret what I did, but I paid for it time and time again, I won't let this affect anyone now." he said in a firm voice and turned around to Damon, "so what are your plans?"

"I am more concerned with the traitors rather than the base now, once we get these people out and in front of us, we can later handle Butorin, and it is going to be on my terms, not on his." He dusted his hands a little and picked a cigar from the open case, "I'll get going now."

"Wait." He stopped Damon before he could turn and go, Damon saw him open his drawer and take out a champagne colored velvet box, "she returned this to you." Damon raised a brow taking the box, he knew exactly what it was, "The ring huh?" he sighed, Elena was over-dramatic when it came to these things or was she really trying to shut the door on their relationship, but since she had made it clear, he was standing in the way of her happiness. He had to step aside now and focus on what he was before her, he couldn't let it affect him so much, even though it was as if she threw the idea of them away so easily, like it didn't mean anything, maybe she never felt the way he felt for her because it would never be easy for him, the anger started to pile up, weird things, at first he was mad at himself for letting her affect him and influence him so much, then he started getting mad at her, 'what and who in the hell is Elena?' she couldn't ever set into his lifestyle anyway, she had been the 'one' because it was he who had been insisting, it didn't matter anymore, if she rather choose being killed by some psycho than seeing his face, he didn't know what to tell himself. Being away from him was liberating to her, it was her happiness, the thought hurt him in all ways. He felt bitter but still couldn't find himself to be more mad at her.

(-HM-HM-HM-HM-)

The knock on the door was killing her, after a handful of nights had she gotten some peaceful sleep but as if someone found out, she opened the door with rough hair and placed her hands on her hips, "What!" her voice even a little rude, but hey it was early morning. Caroline gave the most adorable 'I am hurt' face, "Stef and I are going to the mall, we might go the Bargello museum and some other places after that, you wanna tag along?"

"Care it's literally-" she looked at the clock and was surprised, "nine- huh, I must have slept a lot, umm I don't know, I get weird between you guys."

"What do you mean?" she frowned, Elena internally groaned, for the past twelve days, she had been explaining this to her, 'she and Stefan did not look like friends' first, she was pregnant with his baby, if that wasn't reason enough (which it should be) they were very extra-friendly, gazing and hugging a lot, it almost made her feel like she was on their honeymoon with them and it made her cringe, of course it was only a time till both of them realize that it was more than a 'friendship' but it still bothered her, she, in her break up stage, didn't want to be reminded of what she is missing out on and how wonderful love is, besides the way Stefan looked at her, as if she had betrayed Damon, it made her uncomfortable, Jeremy was taking way too long to make sure everything was safe. Stefan had also completely made all security checks, she was feeling safe than she thought she would, the idea that she was being watched was leaving her slowly, it had caused her so much trauma that at first she couldn't even change clothes or take bath or a shower. Being alone was a struggle at night, but she chose this for herself, yet she felt like she wasn't able to enjoy it.

"I mean nothing, I just feel like staying home."

That wasn't going to happen, with all security arrangements done, Stefan still wouldn't let her stay alone in this house. Not overly furnished, minimal and classy, she liked it this way, the walls all white with some in beige. Long and comfortable sofas, very beautiful paintings on the plain walls.

She quickly got ready for another day of being in a pickle, pickle being her adorable friends acting very much couple-ish. She straightened her hair and wore a sweater dress. The whole Mall experience was her looking silently at random things while Stefan and Caroline shopped for the baby. She appreciated how greatly they were trying to carve a wonderful life out an otherwise complex situation, as if everything was planned, she would show him random baby rompers, and shoes, and he would look at them and laugh beautifully, he would stroke her golden hair and kiss her cheek every now and then when she said something crazy, her hormones were crazy, Elena had to agree, she would go from 'I always wanted a natural birth' to 'if you're not a doctor please stay away mood.' However soon she was be very tired and felt every 'sick'. Stefan like the 'puppy' he was for her, immediately stopped the shopping right there and then and helped her to a restaurant nearby. Bags on the table while they ordered all sorts of ice-cream flavors for her. "See I told you to tell me when you feel like this."

"Well I thought I was fine but then my feet did this weird thing-"she pouted, he sighed and cupped her face, "Yeah the swelling, look baby just take deep breaths okay and try to calm yourself down a little, Elena, can you pour her some water?"

She was deep in her thoughts looking at them with some sort of envy, but with both of them looking at her, she sat up and got her water, "Here."

"Thanks." Caroline said in a whispery voice.

She gave a tight lipped smile and sat back in her seat, what was happening to her, she wasn't scared of Kol right now, she wasn't even trapped in four big walls of any house, yet she wasn't happy-She was missing him? How could she miss him? He broke her heart, there were times when he didn't care about her, he didn't even seem affected when she talked about parting ways. Did she leave that ring for pushing his limits or giving closure, to be honest she had been bitter but the second she packed her bags she felt like she left a big portion of her life back and started fresh. As soon as they went home, she didn't know why she was in a bad mood, she felt selfish about leaving Caroline while she was sick, but she was more than happy with Stefan by her side, Elena thought some what in anger and headed to her room, she texted Jeremy about getting the process done quicker and got in bed, she kicked her heels off and got under the blankets even it was still bright outside, reaching under her pillow, she pulled out her diary, it was going to be two weeks, not a single call, not a text.

So much for love.

Right, you tell the person to leave you alone, shut all doors on them and then expect resistance? What do you want? She asked herself. She missed him, of course she did, she missed how soft he was with her, how he took care of her, she missed his otherwise annoying wit, even his aggressive episodes, was she going insane? She shook her head and sat up against the headboard bringing her knees up to her face trying to remind herself of how he hurt her, lied to her , how sometimes he'd make her feel inadequate and replaceable. Why did she never feel good enough for him? And at times she'd feel that he wasn't the man she wanted, that both of them were very different people and it wasn't going to work. He wasn't ready to compromise on anything- how can she not be happy after getting her independence from this? Was she slowly turning into her mother? Her mother couldn't end things with her father after everything, she was dangerously charmed by him, or in love? She didn't know- but she didn't want to end up this way but here she was, heading there.

She didn't like the circumstances, the background, the environment he lived in, yet she felt like he was worth the compromise. Did he feel about her that way, would he be willing to leave anything for her, change for her, she felt like she was changing, she didn't like anything anymore, the music she could dance to, the colors that appealed to her- it hurt to be alone and away from him, as if she wasn't even punishing him anymore, as if she was punishing herself by depriving her body and soul of what it needed. Seeing Stefan and Caroline happy, planning their little one's life made her upset, she felt like the worst friend but she couldn't deal with it. Why cant she be like Caroline and not let things bother her? Things like her unneeded morals. Her morals were hurting her. It was complicated but she was sure about the fact that she would go crazy if this goes on longer.

(-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-)

Enzo was standing in front of his seat, telling details about two contract killers they had tracked down who were reported to be soon attacking Grayson. He was sure this was by Klaus, and now for fact he knew that Klaus had taken Kol back in, because Kol on his own couldn't get this many men to side with him which they were finding on the daily, Stefan had done a really good job with changing between the cities and keeping their locations random, he was not worried about it. "I haven't heard anything about Hash's area, just because we are too busy with these Men, you guys haven't kept track, and you know how easy it is for them to betray. Call Hash as soon as you can and ask him about it."

Enzo nodded, they had recently started checking strictly a lot, and if any traitor was found- or anyone giving themselves the relaxation of some rules, Damon would immediately send some men to pick him and then give whatever punishment he wanted at the moment. Especially those with any link to Klaus would be killed immediately, everyone was alarmed and although Damon seemed calm and collected, the closest people to him knew that this was all Kol related frustration, he was trying to mark territory and reminding people of who the boss was. He looked from the glass of the room they were into the partition room, it was dark except a few white lights at the back. Three men hanging upside down, while they were being beaten. Damon looked at them with cold eyes, then raised his brow at Enzo, "He says Elijah and Klaus Michaelson were in contact with him. The personals he couldn't excess but they were involved in the murder of Luke and Taro."

"Wasn't that four months ago?"

Enzo swallowed thick with fear, when Damon would let it out by breaking things and shouting, Enzo would be calm as he didn't feel like it was out of the ordinary, but for weeks now Damon was this new steely person, who tough looked calm took the most extreme decisions with no regard to the reaction from his men, every person was quiet and agreeing and fearing for their lives. "Y-yes Capo." He replied with slight reluctance, Damon nodded and stood up, "Isn't your procedure way too slow for your position?"

"Boss i-"

"Ah uh- It Is your responsibility Enzo and I wont remind you of it again." His eyes slightly widened, "Get rid of them and make sure Klaus gets to see their bodies, he should know we don't forget."

He moved his head in agreement and headed out quickly, every step on eggshells to not piss his Boss off. He always felt like Damon would never kill him but with the recent 'one strike you're out rule' he wasn't too sure anymore.

Damon watched from his seat while Enzo ordered the guys to 'kill them'. He sighed when their dead bodies were dropped on the floor, bullets shot right into their mouth while they asked him for mercy, cursed him when they felt like they weren't getting any.

His phone vibrated loudly on the table which was at the upright center. He gestured one of the men in the room to bring it to him, the brown haired, sharp faced man brought it to him. He held it from him and sat back in his seat looking at the screen, 'Elena G. Salvatore' He frowned slightly and looked at the time. It was about 1:30 am in the night. Probably morning there. He let out a breath and picked it up, dismissing the four men in his room.

"Hi." He heard her slightly embarrassed voice, as if she wasn't sure about calling him, "It's me-"

"I know." He bit the inside of his cheek, "What's going on?"

"uh nothing- were you asleep? I didn't mean to interrupt anything." She already sounded guilty for calling and he could hear it in her voice, "I shouldn't have- behaved the way I did." she said it with breaks, "I am shifting tomorrow, Bonnie wants to stay with me for a while- arghh I don't know what I am talking about."

It was as if he could she her palming her face, "Sorry I just woke up, my mind is foggy." She admitted. He chuckled ironically, "Finally an explanation for why you called me."

There was a moment of silence before she sighed, "No I was awake and I wanted to do that, actually I wanted too for some days now, it's the way I left things, everything is just messy."

He leaned up a little, the bodies now being wrapped and dragged, "I don't quite get what you mean."

She gasped, "You know what I mean, Damon- it's just my opinion , but if you want to reconcile-" he interrupted her that moment, "Reconcile? Of course you get to decide everything."

"That's why I asked." She gave reasoning, "It's your decision, but maybe I was just right out of trauma Damon, I analyzed and decided too soon, I am trying to fix, I know I hurt you."

He narrowed his eyes, "I am not hurt."

"Okay. Well I am glad you aren't. I was hurting and I didn't know what to do with our relationship, but these last few days have me thinking, and I seriously feel as if I made a mistake, can you come here? Can we talk about this?"

He wanted to say no- but then he knew it wasn't what he actually wanted, and he didn't want to hurt her more, no matter what she did, he would be tempted to go back to her in a moment, and he hated that how weak she had turned him, he wasn't this man. "About what?"

"Us." Her voice was soft, "I finally am strong enough to call you today- I think I am strong enough to discuss this." She gulped, "I cant let this be my biggest regret Damon."

Her voice was inviting, suddenly all bricks were coming together forming something before him, He wasn't a worthless man in his eyes now, it was unfair how easily she could convince him, he didn't want to push her away than she was already.

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

"I'll be waiting."

….

….

HI GUYS DO LEAVE A REVIEW.


	16. Summer rains

"Caroline, please- don't." Elena insisted taking the picture frame from her, "I let you come for verbal instructions." She was moving her things in this place- things she had purchased and her father had sent a few of her old paintings for her to keep their, she loved her room, an attached studio for art which had big windows to let the light in, most of the house was in white themes, including the furniture which gave the place a neat look, but she added a few warm aesthetics to it, like velvet covers here and there, beautiful rugs and some paintings to tone down the extreme minimalist look there. Caroline pouted when she was sat down my her, "This is what I do best."

"Certainly not agreeing." Stefan interrupted which made Elena roll her eyes and turn around, "can you please shut off your flirting buttons today."

"Not like I can help it." He said as if it was a big task to do, "She isn't supposed to be glowing this much." He raised his brows in suggestion to her, she sighed, "Oh it's the sweat."

Elena felt uncomfortable watching them back and forth and just grabbed the frame she took from Caroline to hang it, "Being corny isn't going to win you any points, Stefan." She heard a huff from Caroline followed by her complaining, "No problems there, all my standards have lowered and the libido is way up."

"Caroline." She gasped and looked over her shoulder, Stefan now way comfortable on the sofa with her, his arm around her, "You were saying?" Caroline slapped his arm off her side, "Oww don't poke your knuckles into my side."

"I literally didn't, my hand is bony." He reasoned. Elena sighed seeing them switch between arguments and flirting. She turned back to her work. Though workers were moving the furniture, Elena wanted to work with the decoration herself, she felt nostalgic about it, her Mom use to love doing all the decorations every season, and when she would insist on helping- she would give Elena some light work, that team work was always her best cherished memory with her.

Soon she was done with most of her room and decided to take a little break, she picked out her phone from her purse- anticipating a text from Damon, though there had been no talk of texting each other, she bit the inside of her cheek seeing no new notifications, not the special ones at least. She had promised herself she wouldn't check her phone, it was stupid. Just when she was about to keep her phone back, her phone buzzed and when she checked, her heart skipped a beat, 'Damon'

She looked around for no reason, before opening the text message,

_What do you want to talk about?_

She frowned looking at the text, but the remembered their conversation, she sighed taking a seat next to her window, "_Is this your way of warning me to prepare a case?" _she added a 'wink' emoticon to give it a playful touch, after a few moments of just without purpose sightseeing out her studio, she received another text, "_Call it whatever, time management, let's not talk about things that are non-negotiable."_

She pulled up her feet up and sat back against the window when she received a second test, "_Why am I not allowed to protect you? Why can't you trust me?"_

she sighed and kept the phone down, just then Caroline came dragging her bag into the room, Elena hopped down the window and walked over to her, "Caroline , I'll have you leave if you keep doing this."

She moved her blonde hair to the side and stood up straight, pressing her back, "Why are you upset?" Caroline walked to the window and sat against it, letting her head fall back and sighed, caressing her belly, "You need to admit this Elena."

"Admit what?" she raised a brow, zipping her bag open, "That you are in love with him, ever since you came here, you've been miserable." Elena sighed and took out her palettes and colors, "I know I do, but what can I do with it, He isn't the way I am, he's always going to be in love with being a Capo, how am I going to deal with this, deal with all this crime, all these girls, everything I won't be able to give him and even if I do, Kol is out there ready to kill me and whoever is in the way, obviously Damon." She bit her lip, "I had this dream, about him hurting Damon, and it was too realistic, I've already lost Mom right in front of me, I don't think I can handle losing him."

"You won't, when you were gone, Stef says he was going crazy, he had never seen his brother want as something as bad as his wife, it inspired him to be protective of me and our baby." She smiled, "And if he loves you, he isn't going to want to find it elsewhere."

She just kept quiet and started arranging her art racks, putting up a few paintings on the walls with no windows, just the mini ones while Caroline watched her do it, soon when Stefan called her for 'lunch' she left the room, giving Elena a pat on her back. She just smiled at her friend when she left, slowly she moved towards her phone and picked it up,_ "I've always trusted you, I wanted to protect you too, even though you made it clear you didn't need it, but how can that stop me for wanting to prevent you from danger? I love you."_

She sat her phone down near the window and got back to decorating, checking in between sessions for messages, but there were none, she didn't panic today, just kept on doing her work even skipping lunch, soon she found herself tracing the very familiar face structure on her newly set canvas, she already had made a sample of this in the plane to her honeymoon, she was focused today, trying to remember every beautiful detail of his face, small flaws like a few un plucked eye brow hair on the top of his eye lid, which gave him a sharp eye, his icy blue iris had such a summer effect to them, reminding her of the ocean. She tried to fill in the sketch with some base colors when a noise ruined her rhythm. She kept the brush down and walked to the door, moving her stray hairs away from her cheeks- she looked out the door and called, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah! Stefan broke the mahogany lamp." Caroline's voice echoed. Elena palmed her face and walked to the corridor, standing near the white railing, looking down, "where are you guys?" she asked, but with a sudden pressure, as if being pushed forward, she screamed as her hands hit the railing for support and it instead of stabling her, broke off, ruining her balance in the quick moment, her scream echoed and she couldn't control her feet, unbalanced on the edge, when she felt being pulled back, it all happened in a quick moment and when she looked back, Stefan was holding her arm, "What are you doing?" his teeth clenched as he pulled her back, she crashed against his chest and clung to his shirt, "Someone pushed me! Stefan!"

"Calm down." He pulled away slightly, cupping her face, "No one's here, you're just imagining it Elena."

"Stefan- I , I can swear something-" he shook his head, "I've double checked all security, you're fine Elena, it's just a thought, Calm down." She didn't realize that she was crying hysterically, Caroline had brought her water in a glass and Stefan made her drink some, after that, took her to her room, making her sit on the bed, Caroline kept commenting, "It's because she's been working all day.'

"Elena no one's on the floor, trust me, this house is safe, he can't hurt you." Stefan avoided using Kol's name, because she was a mess, her eyes red and swollen from crying, while she was shivering, all of her memories from those days came back, when she would cry for help all day, where he would scare her using different things, she never know how, but she was hugging Caroline so tightly, she might be having issues breathing, while Stefan was running his hands up and down her back to calm her down.

Soon she was tired of shaking and crying and stopped eventually, lying like a zombie against Caroline, her body still shivering after some moments, 'Here." She looked back and saw Stefan holding a tablet in his hand and some water, "It's going to calm you down."

She nodded and took it lazily, feeling like a mess when she lied back against Caroline's chest. "It's going to be okay Elena, it was just a panic attack." And soon she started feeling the same too, she had been thinking between Damon and Kol all day, her mind clearly couldn't take a lot. Her mind was starting to calm down, maybe due to the medicine. However, she was alerted the second she heard some 'walking' loud steps, she sat up and exchanged looks with Caroline and Stefan, looking at the door now. Her heart started beating when she looked over Caroline's shoulder towards the door. "Damon." She mouthed looking at her husband standing at the door, "What's going on here." He said looking at the environment of the room. Wearing an all-black suit with no tie, which he could have taken off after the flight. She moved down from the bed and walked to him, "You're here." She said with a sigh of relief and wrapped her arms around him, letting her head fall against his shoulder, the scent from his neck calmed her down and she instantly felt safe, when his arms wrapped around her, her eyes almost filled up in tears- she didn't know until now that she had missed him so much, how was she going to spend a life without him. When she finally pulled back, he took a step ahead and raised his brows at Stefan, "Should I repeat myself?"

"Nothing, she just had a panic attack." He said keeping the glass on the side table. "She felt like someone was trying to push her off the railing."

"and why is it broken?" he said in a strong investigative tone, Elena swallowed thick, Stefan shrugged, "It must have already been broken, Damon, look I don't know, I've made sure of the security here, you don't need to worry."

"Stefan don't give me excuses check the railing, see if there's any previous damage to it, we both know what a purposely done damage looks like, Take Caroline to her room." He ordered swiftly and turned back to her when Caroline and Stefan left the room. Elena was just staring at him, he walked back to her closing the door behind her, she didn't realize she had tears on her cheeks, until he wiped them away with his thumb, "Why do you look scared?"

She looked up at him and shook her head, "It just felt real. I don't want to die. I didn't want to- at least without saying good bye."

"You aren't going to die." He said with confidence in his voice, as he cupped the side of her face, "I am not letting you die this easy." He moved the hair away from her face, her face stained with some paint. He rubbed his thumb over it, "Come." He looked around for the bathroom and once he noticed the huge door on one end, he held her hand and took her there, she stood quiet as he made her stand in front of the sink and slowly cleaned her cheek from the paint, she kept looking at the diluted paint drops trickling down his palm to his sleeve, yet she didn't say anything, once they were done, he brought her back to the room and made her sit down on the bed, she felt like her eyes were heavy with sleep, when he turned the lights down low and set her quilt on top her, he walked across the bed, he took off his coat and tossed it on the foot of the bed, opening a few of his buttons and sitting in the chair near the window, reaching into his jeans for a cigar, Elena sighed when she turned in bed seeing him sitting so distant from her, blinked a lot as she felt sleepy, watching her husband near by. When their eyes met, her heartbeat sped up again, her cheeks warmed up and she gave a small smile patting the space next to her, "It isn't too bad."

He cocked his head to a side at the invitation and got ahead, burning his cigar into the clear glass desk, he got up and out of his shoes, getting in bed next to her, she smiled reaching for his hand and held it, "I'll give you a house tour tomorrow, are you staying?"

"If the purpose of your question was luring me into staying, maybe I am interested." He joked, she huffed, "Are you staying Mr. Salvatore?"

"Well I suppose, a house tour given to me by you is pretty much once in a lifetime opportunity." He said with a slightly crooked smile and rested back on the pillows on his side, she moved towards him ever so slowly and rested her head on his chest, letting her one arm coil around his upper body, looking at his face time and time again for any changes of expression but he had closed his eyes now, patting the top of her head ever so slowly.

"Damon." Her voice merely above a whisper. "Hmmm." He responded without moving or opening his eyes. Her hands moved over his chest slowly as she spoke, "Are you mad at me?"

"Oh yeah." He said in a half enthusiastic voice, she was sure that he was honest when he said that, "I know the choices I make-" he interrupted, "Not now."

She clamped her mouth shut and sighed, resting her head down again, her hand moved to cup the side of his face, stroking his cheek slightly, "I love you." He breathed out and held her hand, pressing a small kiss to her palm and holding it against his chest.

When the morning lights hit him, he cursed the lack of curtains in this room, but hey- she had just moved here. He opened his eyes to search for a pillow to block the light from his eyes, just now realizing that she wasn't in bed with him. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the empty room from the bed, there were still unopened boxes and the door was locked, he raised a brow- getting out of bed and searched for her, the bathroom door wasn't locked either, that's when he saw her in the mirror view of the room, an extension by the wardrobe that he had completely missed seeing last night, she was behind a glass door, sitting on a heighted wooden stool, her hair in a messy braid, wearing the most bright red socks, an over sized black sweat shirt with some bleached shorts, her palms were stained with color again and a spot or two on her head were stained a pastel pink, when he opened the door, she looked side-ways from the canvas checking on who's there, "Is the music too loud?" she asked. That's when he realized there was soft piano- music playing in the back, he walked in, "No, I was looking for you."

"oh." She said and sat down her brush, "Yeah this kinda looks like a mini hide out." She climbed down the stool and stood in front of him, "well I have to do some contrast touch-ups, why don't you get changed while I am done with that, and then we can get some breakfast."

"I'll wait, no problem." He said with a shrug walking across the stool behind her as she sat back down, "I started this portrait yesterday, tell me you recognize who this is." She said with a proud voice, he stood back a little, squinting his eyes and narrowing them as if trying to recognize. Of course, he knew it was a portrait of him- he already had the sample of this with him, she kept looking at him for approval and now he realized how he missed messing with her, "Well." She asked after a few minutes of waiting.

He cocked his head to the side and raised his hand, to cover the structure of the nose in the portrait, "Oh look it's me."

She gasped in dis-belief at this wide grin and hit his shoulder, "You're ungrateful. I am not even charging you for this."

"Well I am not paying for this either. You completely butchered my jaw line, my left cheek bone definitely looks higher than the other one and look who has the lumpiest nose now, ME." he said with a smirk, she rolled her eyes and turned back to the canvas, "Well- let's just say- It's realistic."

She heard a laugh from him, from the back of her shoulder, shaking her head now, she sat forward and started doing some shadows, "If anything you should be paying me, my whole being is so therapeutic for you, you can't get me off your mind." He said with a chuckle. She huffed, "Yeah right." When all of a sudden, the strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist, she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat, and hand shivered to the point where she had to force her brush to stay stable, "Okay you don't need to give me wrinkles on that, I like it." He said against her ear

"You do?" her voice serious now, as she looked at him sideways, he nodded, "Of course." He pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose, "Get cleaned up, I am hungry." He said with a light smile and turned to go, she held his arm, pulling him back to her, her arm immediately coiled around his neck as she moved up a little, crashing her lips against him, though hesitant at first, he kissed her back in a few seconds, cupping her face with one hand and holding her body up with the other, she opened her mouth for him, letting her tongue lick at his, she moaned on his responses, he pulled back slightly to take her lower lip between his, licking at her lip before wrapping it between his again. When breath became a necessity- she moved back slightly, beaming at him like a mischievous kid, she rubbed her pointer finger against his nose, and he realized, she had a black-blue color on it, she giggled at his face and climbed down the stool, "Art imitates life."

(-TVD-TVD-TVD-)

The day went on, her anxiety would subside from time to time but she felt a certain way, like this feeling of being in constant danger right now was stuck with her and she didn't know what to do with it. Everything felt like it was on a timer, a negative feeling was eating her up, she would think of dark, being kept in smelly congested closets, she would think of that smell from a dead body that she would never forget, she would remember his lips on her, cold, demanding lips that would make her shudder.

"Lena?" Caroline pat her back and she jumped, "Care, oh God I am so sorry." She had been watering the plants, the pot had over-filled when she stepped back and looked at it, "I was just thinking about something."

"It's okay, have you had lunch?"

"No- umm do you know when Damon and Stefan are coming back?"

She shook her head, "I didn't want to ask him, he was so annoyed because of Damon." She walked to the swing and sat down on it, widening her legs a bit and catching up her breath, "I kinda miss him."

"Miss Stefan?" she asked with a grin and raised a brow at her, Caroline nodded, "Yeah, I don't know what to do." she coiled a strand of her hair around her finger, "We kissed."

"What?" Elena gasped throwing the garden hose and walked to her, "When?"

"A few days ago." She blushed talking about it and Elena sat down next to her, "so? What did he say?"

"He says he's excited for the baby." She sighed and sat back, "I mean, he says he's starting to want us being together, but he doesn't want – pressure, like he doesn't want us to call it something, yet."

Elena frowned, "Really? I mean, that's kind of commitment phobic behavior. If you're happy-"

"I am not okay with it, but I want to give it time, I like being with him, if I am okay after giving birth to the baby, maybe I'll ask him out." She said in a low voice, Elena seemed impressed with her confidence about the asking out thing, "And what if he doesn't want to-"

"Then there are plenty other out there." She shrugged it off and flipped her hair back, "besides it's not the end of the world- you know I am a pro at the game." She winked, Elena giggled at her easy going attitude, "Of course it's going to be hard, I have a baby- well I'll be occupied half my time with the baby, which is the text message break I'd need – but I don't care about anything as much as the baby Elena, like I couldn't careless about never finding the 'one'."

"Ladies."

They both turned around to see Stefan at the gallery door frame, "We're having a meeting with some of our guests on this floor, would you both mind moving upstairs for now?" Elena got up and helped Caroline up, the last thing she wanted would be to stay on the same floor with a bunch of criminals are discussing some more immoral activities. Caroline had left the balcony and when she had just picked up her phone along with, Stefan blocked her way, "Was she talking about me?" he truly looked intimidating right now, she shook her head, "No, just talking about the baby and dating again."

"You're encouraging her to date other guys?" he asked as if he was highly offended, "No, it's none of my business, why do you care anyway?"

"Isn't it obvious Elena, don't act so naïve." He rolled his eyes, "You know I don't like this, she isn't going to be dating or whatever." He said in a authoritative tone, Elena raised a brow, "Oh and you can do whatever, you don't own her Stefan, figure yourself out and get out of my way."

He gritted his teeth but moved back after an angry look at her, she quickly went upstairs after the slight encounter, however while she was taking the stairs she saw Damon guiding a man inside and as if he knew she was there as their eyes locked for a moment, she gave a slight smile and then ran upstairs quickly.

All these thoughts were exhausting her, Damon and her relationship, Kol and his plans. Just thinking about it made her upset, can't things go the way she wanted, peaceful and happy, where she will pretend like Damon wasn't in the mafia and that they both were completely safe.

Elena was deciding on finding Caroline on the floor when she ran into Bonnie, who was clearly in a rush herself, "Elena there you are."

"Oh Bonnie, have you been looking for me?" She asked considerately, Bonnie had been working way too hard to decorate and set the house with her, she had been giving her self-defense lessons too- which though Elena enjoyed was also very tough on her- Her muscles were always sore after it, everyday Bonnie would add a little more to her regime. "do you not want to train? I made a little gym at the end of the corridor; don't worry I don't have big weights today."

"Oh I can use some big weights." She said following Bonnie down the corridor, Bonnie was noticing how Elena was trying to increase the intensity of her every exercise, by adding resistance bands and weights more than necessary.

"you wanna take a quick break sweetie?"

"No." she shook her head, squatting with a single leg as she supported the weight in her right hand, the intensity of the exercise made her forget anything she was going to think about. She had also recently started some kick boxing practice with Bonnie and though it was still difficult for her, she was seeing a difference already.  
"Elena, Goodness I am tired, you might want to stop now." Bonnie said holding the punching bag by both of her hands. Her breathing was erratic as she shook her head , "I am not tired yet Bon."

Bonnie stayed for five more minutes before giving up on her, after all Elena being the princess was rather firm on her decisions most of the time. Just after a few moments she heard the door open again, but when she looked in the mirror in front of her, it wasn't Bonnie asking her to come, but Damon. She kicked the punching bag and moved back, before she could punch the bag again, he held it with a single hand as if motioning her to stop, "Is this necessary?"

She nodded, "Yes."

He grinned and let the bag go, getting ahead and holding her wrist, removing the glove from her, "You aren't fighting anyone."

"I am just working out." She said removing her other glove.

"Are you?" he raised a brow, "Because that menacing look in your eyes says otherwise, you look dangerous, not your best look." He let her hand go and stood in front of her, she mouth clenched and she swallowed thick, "I think my best look is being alive."

"Well I am here to do that, everyone is- don't for a second think you're a part of this whole eliminate Kol mission." He said in warn, "So if you're getting any ideas-"

"Yes I am getting ideas Damon, I am tired of living my life on this timer, Shouldn't I be my saving?"

"You don't need to Elena." he pursed his lips and got ahead holding both her hands, "I am not going to let you anywhere near them, It is my responsibility as someone who loves you." He sighed, "I've never known how to care for another person, I didn't have any parents, Stefan didn't need me after a certain age- but I am going to do right by you, You don't realize how dangerous it is for you to be in the same room as him, anything can happen and I don't think I'll take chances with you."

"But someday-"

"Not today." He said in a firm voice holding her chin up, "Not any other day." he cupped her face, stroking the side of her hair, "it's not because of you anymore, maybe you're not scared but I am, i am scared to lose the one person who brings me joy. Is it wrong of me to want to protect you? To be dreaming about a life I never had and wanted the most." She was taken aback from his words

"I am scared as well, scared about the fact that you have to save me over and over or put your life at risk-"

He interrupted, "I've done that before and I don't regret it. Do you think I enjoy this? I know telling you 'no' only makes you repel me further and I freaking hate that, I hate living away from you, I hate the fact that you have so much control over me where if I don't see you around , it drives me nuts. I hate that I don't care about anything anymore as much as you and as much I was terrified of it at first, I accept it, yes I do, it's the choice I made of doing everything in my power to protect you even if it kills me in the process, if I didn't there's going to be no meaning to me, because …you are my life" Her eyes sparkled with his every word, she was beaming at him now, his honesty was melting her to the core, looking into his glassy blue eyes, she knew it was all true- even if this turned out to be the worst decision of her life, she wouldn't ever regret it, the love of her life was right in front of her, just asking for her to hand her heart over with that look in his eyes and she knew she would. She didn't realize you initiated it, but she was kissing him back with all her passion, holding on to his neck tightly, as his tongue entered into her mouth, making love to hers, she moaned at the soft movements, his hands slowly supporting all her weight on himself till he slowly picked her up, coiling her legs around his torso. He had been craving her for months which felt like long years now, he never knew love and sex would make such an incredible combination, though having had all types of women in his life, her body was a temple for him and he was going to make sure she knows how special being with her is for him, his mouth had moved from on top of her lips, down her chin to her soft neck, when he moved towards the exit in hopes to find a more 'comfortable' place but she protested by pulling her weight down on the floor, "I want you." She whispered , stroking his cheek, the longing in her eyes the same as her words, he nodded and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, she smiled against his mouth as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt and moved it over his shoulders, loving the feel of his firm skin under her hands, she moaned when he sucked on the skin of her neck, his hand stroking her thigh which was still coiled around him, she rose up her hands as he pulled over the beige tank top from her body, leaving her blushing in her baby pink sports bra, exactly the color he would associate with her. She slapped his chest when he pretended to give her a judgy look for it, "You always have something to say about my wardrobe choices."

"Just that you look so perfect without it." He said crashing his lips against her once more while helping her out of her clothes, while she un-did his pants, the ache between her legs was rising, he hadn't even touched her and she was sure she was more than ready for him to a point where she was embarrassed. "Damon, please-" she moved further down to lay back on the mat under them, "I need you."

His heart was pounding at the sight in front of him, the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on, lying under him- begging him to take her, her rose colored nipples had hardened, her chest heaving with every breath she took, her body shaking with need. He kissed down her neck to her breasts and stroked them in his hands, enjoying the moans from her mouth as he took one of her nipples into his mouth, her body arching up to him as she called his name out between pants, finding some courage, she held one of his hand and pressed it against her wet heat, he grinned not moving his hand and placing it on her thigh as he kept on playing her soft breasts, she let out a cry in protest , she couldn't take this sweet torture longer now, swallowing thick she stroked his length before gripping it, feeling how his body tensed when she did that- he was getting hard with every passing second and it gave her a feeling of victory when she felt him parting her legs, moving her back to lie down, he removed her hand from his length reluctantly and gripped both her wrists pinning them to either side of her head, "So you really want me?"

"is that a question?" she asked arching herself up, "Just touch me and you'll know, love." She said softly, gasping when she felt him at her entrance, she held a breath and tried to ease herself as he entered her in one quick move, her mouth fell open and dug her nails into her palms, "Ah yes." He slowed down, helping her adjust to his length before resuming his movements from slow to deep hard strokes, his lips nipping at the skin of her neck, he loved how her long legs coiled around his back, pulling him closer and deeper, he couldn't get enough of her, being inside her was like a beautiful dream, wrapped by her warm body, her small movements against him, building up the fire inside him to go deeper in her, never let go of this body which fit him like a glove, he peppered kisses all over her exposed skin, letting her wrists go and kissing her marked palms, "uh I love you." He whispered against her mouth, moving faster with her, she nodded biting her lower lip and letting her arms grip his strong back, "I love Ah- I love you too." she moaned and bit softly into his shoulder, her release was here already, she didn't want this to end yet, leave his arms ever and think about all the crazy situations going on, if only they could stay this much in love forever, if only she can have him all to herself now. She moved her head back slightly, her eyes meeting his and he let his forehead fall against her, with a forceful thrust he pushed her over the edge, he let himself follow her release, getting the release together was an amazing experience which had them both out of breath, she was still gripping his shoulders for support as she was panting, he whispered, "You okay?"

She nodded, cupping the side of his face and planted a kiss on his lower lip, pulling back with a small smile on her face, which he felt so proud that was because of him, she chuckled and fell back on the mat pulling him with herself, he pulled out of her and settled on her side, letting his arm around her so she would rest on his arm, but she rested her head on his chest instead. Planting small kisses against his chest, "Your phone didn't ring once." She giggled.

"Well it's in the other room." He patted her head, "Happy now?"

She rolled her eyes, "That's the bare minimum, Damon- giving yourself way too much credit for trivial gestures that are manners." She huffed looking up at him, "Well tell me what you want? What can I do for you princess?" he kissed the tip of her nose and then her lips, she smiled when he pulled away, "Well a little less critique on my wardrobe would be nice."

"Umm nope." He faked a frown and sat up slightly, "What I can do is re-design that overly blingy pink stuff for you."

"What do you know about women's fashion?" she arched a brow at him, he looked up as if thinking, "I think I know about Elegance more than you."

"Ughh you mean- being old?" she mocked him, he grabbed her and turned her around holding her, "Oh top tier comedy, Mrs. Salvatore, you know I was messing with you right?" he held both her arms and pressed a kiss under her ear, "I mean I kind of like the nauseatingly pink wardrobe of yours, makes me want to tear it all off." He nuzzled her neck and placed wet kisses against her color bone, she sighed, "Oh- let's grab our stuff and go to our room already."

"You want to-"

"Yes!" she said with urgency and grabbed his wrist, she quickly put on her shorts and slipped her tank top of her head, messing up her hair in the process, she grabbed her shoes and her bra, eh chuckled zipping his pants and moved forward to move her hair away from her face, "What's the rush?" he said trying to get a rise out of her, she held his wrist and snapped, "Stop it already-" with a kiss to his grinning mouth, she pulled him out of the room with her and just headed up back towards the other side when a scream startled her, "What was that?" he asked when she turned around to look at him.

"Bonnie." Elena identified the voice, it sounded like someone was hurt, was it Bonnie? "Let's check." She said and without waiting for his answer followed the voice down the stairs, the screams now fading into cries. Her heart was pounding as she saw a crowd around the small reading room she had made, some of the servants and Damon's guest were all standing at the door, she swallowed thick as she saw Bonnie sitting on the floor on her knees. A few people gave her way and a scream escaped her mouth when she saw Caroline on the floor with a big hole in her forehead, a bullet hole, she couldn't believe this, this was a nightmare, "CARE! NO!" she tried to move towards her and picking her off the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks, "NOOOOO!" she was being pulled back and when she looked back, she saw Damon trying to move her back, she was shaking and pulling away from him, "Damon! It's Caroline! Why – who did this, she was just with me-Let me go!"

She looked back at her friend, covering her mouth with her hand as she broke down. In a sudden flash Stefan entered the room and held Caroline up, Damon assumed he had already seen her as he was just picking her up from there quickly, what was going on, this place wasn't suppose to be this way. Who did this and when? He thought as he hugged a completely shattered Elena close to himself.

(-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-)

Hey guys hope you like the chapter, it's super long, I took about a week to write it, see I am updating stories, did you like it? What was your favorite part? I even slipped in a little dex for you guys 😉 and who's sad about Caroline, (I had preplanned that for a while now so had to go through with It) hope you enjoy my angels. And please, REVIEW.


	17. My sinful senses

He was followed by Enzo to the main headquarters they had in the city. Not knowing why exactly he was enraged- well yes, Stefan called a meeting without telling him. As if he was planning something with keeping him out or planning something against him? As he walked with large known steps in the highly lit corridor towards the meeting Enzo had earlier informed him about he was getting more and more angry. Ever since Caroline's murder, Stefan was being reckless. He let Stefan carry Caroline to the doctor despite it being hopeless. His brother was in huge denial earlier and now he was being reckless with all this sudden attack plans. He walked in after pushing the glass door to the big room which had a big round conference table with a lot of space in the middle. Stefan was standing at the front just pacing, maybe previously talking, now interrupted, Damon, without regard to anyone in the room, walked across the table and held him by his elbow nearly seething, "What are you doing?"

He jerked his arm away with equal force, "I don't recall you being invited-"

"Shut up- outside, right now!" he said and went towards the exit, Stefan followed him outside while Enzo stayed inside to calm everyone down.

Stefan closed the door after him and turned around facing his brother, "Everything I do isn't supposed to be approved."

"Yes it will be, Stefan." He bit out each word, "You can't take on Klaus and Kol by your own, You can't let this get to you."

"So what's suppose to get to me?" he clenched his teeth, "My child is dead, the girl I love is fucking dead." He growled, "And you don't care because it's not Elena, I wouldn't care either if it were her, it was supposed to be her! Not Caroline. You know it's very easy to give people the 'stop being reckless' lecture when nothing was taken away from you."

"So what is your case? I should wait till someone kills my wife before I give you advice? I know you want revenge, I want it too. But this impulsive reaction is what Klaus and his brothers might be waiting for."

"So what!" he fisted his hands at his sides, "What do you wanna wait for? I have planned all the attacks on Michaelson family with all these men! What are you waiting for?"

"Great, warn them by attacking them this way." Damon huffed, " you need to cool down before anything."

"I am not going to cool down, it's the first and last thing I am asking you for is to leave me alone- I don't care if anything happens, I have nothing to lose." He spat, Damon frowned, "But I do, Stefan. I don't want to lose you."

"You don't want to lose Elena." he said with disgust, "If you cared about me, you'd support me." he pushed at Damon's shoulder and walked straight back inside.

(-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-)

Elena wrapped the blanket tighter around herself, digging herself deep under it as if wanting to hide her existence. The small amount of sunlight left filtered through the light curtains and brightening up the room was nauseating her. She would never have thought a world without her best friend would still have this sunshine. It pained her to think back on the last few months with her. Caroline's plan for herself and the baby would pop in her head, her cheery voice would ring in her ears and it would bring tears to her eyes. On realizing that the spot under her cheek on the pillow was wet due to her tears she slightly moved back, still not planning to get out of bed. When the door opened, she didn't care to even look over her shoulder, just by the sound of the steps, she knew it was Damon. He was upset too, but his main concern was her safety right now which always made her angry. Maybe because it was a reminder that this was all her fault.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, the side of his thigh pressing against her back and she could sense that he was looking at her. She tried to muff any sounds from her mouth so he wouldn't initiate any conversation just assuming that she's asleep, but when his hand started to stroke the top of her head, she sniffled. Without saying anything, he simply wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him, she gave up and let him comfort her. Her face was pressed against his chest as she silently cried. "It's going to be okay." He said in a whisper.

What did he mean? Caroline was dead. How was anything suppose to be okay after this. She shook her head against his chest, "I am so sorry." She said between tears, "For being the reason that everyone around me dies." She looked up at him, cupping his face, "Mom didn't have to die, Caroline and her baby didn't have to die." She broke into tears, "I ruined everything, her life, our marriage, Stefan's life-" he shook his head, "Elena, you aren't the reason for Kol's sick head, he is the one responsible for this." Even though he was bothered with her constant self-blame, he tried to sound very polite. She became quiet but he knew she wasn't convinced at all, she had already started loathing herself and that worried him, "I know she was an important part of your life and I am aware that this is devastating for you but this in no way is your fault and I am not just saying that because I love you." She interrupted, "Then why is that Stefan hates me? When he looks at me ,I feel like a criminal and murderer of his happiness."

Damon sighed, he didn't know what he was going to do about this, he was torn between his heartbroken brother and the love of his life. Stefan was acting like a crazy person. He initially had accepted the death but had rushed Caroline's body to the doctor in case the baby had survived. Despite him telling Stefan that that was impossible. Well later when he found out it was hopeless, he completely went insane. He never knew how serious Stefan was about Caroline and his baby till then. Stefan had definitely fallen for Caroline.

"He doesn't hate you baby. This is a great loss for him and he isn't thinking straight right now, anyone wouldn't. I can't imagine being in his place." He too cupped her small face in his hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks, she nodded, "But I just want to comfort him, I know he's hurting and I am hurting too because she was so important to us." Her eyes filled up in tears. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around him, "Sometimes I want to end myself or just disappear but I can't."

"I am not letting you do that either." He patted the back of her head, "We're going to get this and live a happy life together."

"Happy." She chuckled humorlessly, "I don't even know what that means anymore." She looked up at him and swallowed thick, "I constantly am terrified that I'll lose you too, like every person I've ever loved and I rather die-"

"No-no don't say that." he said instantly, "You won't lose me." his voice held somewhat vulnerability and command at the same time which she was unable to deny. Unable to build more words to explain her dark mind she nodded slightly and breathed into his warm shoulder with hopes that his arms were stronger than any other shield for her.

Throughout her flight back from Italy, her hand was wrapped around his arm and her head down on his shoulder, she was surprised at how patient he was being with her. He wasn't pressuring her to feel alright. He was giving her space while being with her which was such a relief. Stefan on the other hand found blaming her as a coping mechanism, Damon had told him to come back with him and Elena but he had refused as he was planning to inflict retribution on the person who had ruined his life. Elena knew Damon was a bit taken aback with Stefan's sudden resistance towards him. Stefan had not only been disrespectful towards Elena but him too in front of everyone. However, Damon didn't let his 'Capo' pride get to him and let it go, had it been someone else, he would give the person an exemplary punishment for disrespecting him and his wife. Elena looked up at him and noticed him lost in thought. He was probably worried about Stefan. The reason he was on this plane was her. He was trying to get her to a safe place. Guilt filled her again but she didn't let it get to her lips. She didn't want to burden him with more. She didn't question his choice of coming back to the same house, his silence was getting concerning but she knew he was planning something in his head, she wanted to know but she knew he wouldn't tell her. Everything was so calm and quiet. Just like the calm before a storm. They went to their room after getting to their house. She picked some water for them and when she came back to the room, he was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. She downed a glass of water still feeling sick from all the traveling they were doing too suddenly. She quickly changed into her silk shorts and a camisole. Though she was exhausted , she couldn't sleep without making sure he was all okay first. She walked to the sofa, her hand rested on her hip as she eyed him. "Come to bed." Her voice was above a whisper. He looked up at her slowly. Instead of getting up, he held out his hand for her. She breathed out and slipped her hand in his which he held firmly, slowly pulling her to himself and making her sit in his lap, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder, "How do you feel now?"

She finally gave him a small smile not wanting him to worry about her, "I am okay I guess." She let her forehead fall against his as she stroked his hair softly, "What about you?"

She heard him chuckle slightly as if the idea of him being upset was absurd, he kissed her temple and shook his head, "What about me? I am-"

"Totally not fine." She interrupted him, "Please Mr. Salvatore. Will you let your guard down for a second and talk to me?"

He rolled his eyes at her tone and looked up at her, "There's nothing to say, I under-estimated that pest and I regret that."

She sighed and he cupped her face, "Should have ended him way more before all this happened. The audacity of him that he thinks he can turn my own brother against me and well he succeeded. Stefan doesn't trust me anymore." He said in a voice above a whisper. She nodded slightly, "Maybe that was his aim but I just feel there is another motive there Damon." She pursed her lips. He huffed, "Elena, my love please- I don't want you thinking about this and ruining your health." He stroked the side of her face, she tried to talk but he interrupted, "Honey, I love you but I won't encourage you coming in the middle of all this." He said in a soft but firm tone, she considered it was best to keep it to herself for now, she nodded in agreement and got up from his lap, "I am going to lie down, I still feel a little queasy."

He let her hand go, she went to bed and once again covered herself in the blankets, every traumatic incidence in her life had made her more afraid of the night. She would cover up more and more as if she was trying to make herself disappear. After a while she felt as he too came to bed and lied next to her, wrapping his arms around her. She relaxed against his warm body and slowly found herself surrendering to sleep.

(-TVD-TVD-TVD-)

Same dull sunshine, same stilled air- the same pressure of agony as she remembered her friend's face. Her smiling and laughing form a few hours before a bullet had tore through her head, blood, pain, fire, smoke- a sudden jolt from her body woke her up and she felt as if she had disturbed him too because her shoulder had bumped so hard into his chest, "Elena?" he asked patting the side of her head, "You okay?"

She nodded, it was already morning again, she didn't want to think about death first thing in the morning, she certainly didn't want to cry. She removed his arms from her body feeling rather suffocated in them, "El-"

"Bathroom." She explained as she rushed to the toilet and leaned over the seat to vomit, after it was done, she felt like her legs were going to break with pain, slowly she washed her mouth and walked back into the room, where he was sitting on the bed with the expression on his face as if asking a question, she waved her hand in a no, "I told you I didn't want that sandwich last night." She said and sat back down on the bed, "I feel sick."

"Oh." He said and let his hand around her rubbing her back, "I should get Bonnie so she can call a doctor."

She held his arm as if refusing, "No it's going to be fine-I just need sleep." She tried to convince him and lied back down on the pillow, "Continue with your day, no need to worry."

"Are you kidding? You look pale and sick."

Her eyes widened at his alarmed voice but she shrugged after a moment, "I mean that's how you want it to be, not caring about each other while still being in 'love'." She grinned. He narrowed his eyes at her statement before realizing. He knew she was going to use that card back on him but this soon? he moved close to her, almost blocking all sunlight from the window, "It's a good thing I didn't require your permission."

"for the record I am fine." She said pushing at his chest slightly but he didn't move, "Elena-"

She hissed, "I understand , Damon- everything, I know what this has come to and I won't hate you for it and I am not stopping you anymore."

"And all it took was Caroline dying to understand that Kol isn't avoidable, not when he was going to kill you?" he said a bit harshly, she was shocked by the sudden argument from his side, she swallowed thick at his slightly loud voice, of course he was mad that she didn't care about herself as much, "It's not because of Caroline, it's because I can't risk you. I don't want you to be distracted while he plans something-"

She got on her knees and moved forward, "I don't know what the future means, but I want you to be with me." she cupped his face as her eyes filled in tears, he sighed wiping the tears from her cheek, his thumb stroked her chin as he let his lips brush against hers, she said his name in a sigh opening her mouth for him, letting him cover her body with his. He placed hard kisses down her neck and kissed all the skin that the camisole allowed. Her small hands unclutched from the sheet. She felt the smooth skin of his back under her palms. She loved the way his lips made her feel. He trailed kisses from the smile line between the small forming abs back to her heaving chest. Their eyes met once again and she gave him a soft smile, she sat up a little and slipped her hand between their bodies to stroke him. He breathed out her name like a prayer, lifting her slightly to remove her lacy shorts from her. She threw her head back on the pillow as he laid her down and settled between her legs. "Of course I would be, the moment I first saw you. I've seen that future." He hooked her legs around his waist and thrusted inside her. She moaned as his length filled her, he moved out and then thrusted back inside her filling her to the hilt. She gasped holding on tighter as he began moving in and out of her. "Yes." Her encouraging moans controlled his amazing pace and soon she climaxed, feeling her world crash around her. As she was riding down the ways, she felt the final few thrusts before he released inside her, he let his head fall against her chest, while her hands stroked his shoulders. She cupped his face, bringing it up to look at him. He kissed her deeply, loving the way her tongue danced with his. He pulled away and she giggled when he pecked the tip of her nose. "I am going to take a warm bath, want to join me?" she raised a brow asking, he pursed his lips, "Now who in the right mind would say no to that- I'll run you a bath, you look like you could use some pampering."

She smiled as he moved away and went towards the bathroom, Elena sat up in bed and reached for her phone on the nightstand. She dialed a familiar number and brought it to her ear, "Bonnie, are you here yet?"

"I am." She replied.

"Good. Look I can't talk right now and Damon probably isn't going anywhere today I'll distract him one way or another but I want you to get every name linked to Kol and Klaus- especially Klaus and can you please also get an update on Stefan. Remember Bonnie you and I have to do this."

"I know Elena, I do- but if Mister. Salvatore found out about this- he will no doubt have me killed." She said in a light tone but Elena knew the girl was fearing for her life, "Bonnie, You have my word on this- Damon would have to deal with me before doing anything about it." she promised, though she didn't know how she trusted this enough, Damon would never hurt her and maybe using that to her advantage wasn't fair but she had to do this for herself, for him, for her best friend and her innocent baby.

When she kept the phone down that instant he walked back in to the room, "The bath's ready." He bowed dramatically and she chuckled. "Do you have to be some where after this?"

"Well Enzo and I did schedule a few meetings- casual nothing-"

"Ahuh-" she stood up and palmed her head, "Maybe I'll call Bonnie home, I don't feel very well- I just don't feel like being alone." She took lights steps to the bathroom-hoping to hear him say. "I'll stay." He said at once following her to the bathroom, "It's not that important."

"Damon I don't want us to have an argument about this later." She had to make it a bit more strong- slightly guilting him to absolutely not go, "If it's important to you-"

"Don't be ridiculous." He rolled his eyes and picked her off the ground, she giggled as he put her in the tub.

(-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-)

"I feel kinda bad." she said as she looked through all the files Bonnie had prepared. "I guilted him into almost reading me a bed time story."

"He's compensating a bit too much." Bonnie smirked and pulled out a file from under the one she was reading, "Firstly we have to look into this guy."

"Tyler Lockwood." She frowned, "I never told Damon about him."

"Damon hasn't linked him to Kol yet- but of what you told me." Elena interrupted, "So did you find him."

"Surprisingly yes. It wasn't a hard job to do so. I've sent some men to get him, once he's a bit relax we can go and check out."

"Hmm that seems about right-" she said a running her fingers through her hair, when the door got knocked at, she immediately hid the files in the bag Bonnie brought them in, "Come in."

She let out a sigh of relief seeing a servant come in, "Ma'am , From Mister. Gilbert." He put the bouquet of flowers on the table in front of her with a basket of what seemed like sweets, "Dad has been sending these every day, he really needs to stop." She grinned and handed the basket back to the servant, "Go keep this in the kitchen."

"Wait a sec." Bonnie said taking the basket from him and dismissed him, Elena raised a brow as Bonnie pulled out a pack from the basket, "What's this?"

Elena looked at the white pack, she had not looked at the basket this carefully so she didn't notice it, "What is it?"

Bonnie tore open the white paper and inside came a disc. She got up and got the Laptop, "I've seen this kind of packaging before- two years ago we got a lot of these messages-"

"What do you mean?" she asked getting a bit freaked out. "It's the way Klaus use to give us a message- Damon and Klaus were both trying to take over some area and that's how the whole disagreement started, they both had to negotiate at the end."

"Oh." Elena said sitting down to check the clip out with Bonnie. The clip started, except it wasn't Klaus on screen- it was Kol. His creepy grin really made her shiver, his dark eyes were shaking her to the core, "Hello Elena. first of all- I hope you have recovered completely from your injury- I still rue that day, You haven't understood me at all." He smiled getting a bit close to screen, "You don't realize how much this hurts me that now the love of my life is fighting tooth and nail to find me and probably kill me- It hurts honestly. I admit- but I guess I've hurt you too- with the whole Caroline thing. It wasn't intended Elena- I was there to have a glimpse of you and I don't know how in the world she recognized me."

Elena's eyes filled in tears as she watched the screen- her temperature was rising because of the anger taking over, "And then I know I could have gotten out as easily as possible but why ignore an inconvenience when you can finish it right?" a crooked smile spread across his lips, "And it must make you realize how powerless your husband is."

Elena shut the laptop and cried into her hands, her whole body was shivering from his words. Bonnie rubbed her back, wrapping her arm around her, "Shh-"

(-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-)

Bonnie kept a glass of water on the table and looked over at Elena who had her arms crossed over her chest, "I don't want to hand you over to my husband." She put her hands on the desk in front of Tyler who was a bit beaten up but still looked pretty tough, "Elena this is going to do nothing."

"Oh really." Bonnie said leaning over to hold him by the collar, she punched his eye as hard as she could and he let out a growl but couldn't fall backwards as Bonnie was holding him , "Don't waste our fucking time Lockwood, we want to know where, how and when we can access Kol, of course you have contacts close to him so if you think you have a chance getting out of here without telling us what we need to know- forget it."

"Bonnie." Elena sighed and patted her back and told her to step aside. "Tyler." She said softly cupped his face, making him look up at her, "I won't hand you over to Damon, he's not a very good man- he might hurt you." She stroked his cheek, "Once I tell him how you tried to manipulate me multiple times arghh he gets very jealous."

"Elena." he said through clenched teeth.

She pressed her thumb onto his bruise under his eye, pressing hard enough to make it hurt as she herself bit each word out, "But why would I detach myself from inflicting misery on a man like you- tell me where Kol is Tyler or-"

He hissed from the pain but still challenged, "Or what?"

"Or I will allow myself to enjoy your slow painful death. " she backed away and reached for the glass throwing it against his face, he screamed and moved his head back, "You fucking bitch!"

Bonnie fisted her hands and gestured her to leave him alone, Elena shook her head, "No- I've been very good for a long time Bon, I can't run away from this life- if this is has to be this way." She picked up her bag and walked to the door, "Let's go Bon, let him live a day or two without some food and see how that is going to change his priorities about keeping secrets."

(-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-)

AN: Hey guys thanks for waiting on the chaps. I had been writing this for a while now! do you like this story, Let me know in the reviews.

also please check out my beta's story "what's broken inside" by heyitskarma- she's an amazing writer. Scarlett has also posted some interesting stories which I've added to my read list (law school got me crazy busy) so check them out. I didn't have my beta proof read this as she is already doing two of my stories.


	18. Speak now

Bonnie walked into the bedroom knowing no one was there but Elena, Damon had been gone for two days now and usually Elena would be very infuriated but she was letting it slide because she also had some things to do, to torture basically and that was Tyler Lockwood, she had watched the video that Kol had sent about twenty times now, there was no way Kol was able to know so much from outside , it was like he was living in the same house with her, it was unbelievable how quick he knew about the things that were literally just going through her mind. When Elena walked out of the bathroom, she was Bonnie looking at her with concern, "you look ghastly pale and I usually avoid telling you that but it's starting to get me worried." Elena rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch near by, "Trust me I've just been inside a lot lately. So what's been going on with Stefan?"

"Not too good- he's tracking down Kol from everywhere and it's not gonna work mainly because the tips Stefan got for two of the attacks were false, eight of his men were killed on spot, one of them was with the Russian Mafia so things won't be as good with them now, all Stefan is doing is ruining Damon's reputation." Bonnie said sitting on the couch by her, "You asked me to get these for what?" she said throwing an envelope between them, "that's not all of Klaus's men though just the ones we could catch on camera over the years. But I don't understand what does he have to do with Kol , they are enemies if you don't remember."

"I do but I have this theory." She said getting up and taking the pictures with her. Bonnie followed her out the room. Elena climbed the stairs up to the fourth floor and went towards the second last room in the corridor, "This is our operation room by the way." She unlocked the door and went inside. Bonnie was surprised to see how many maps and pictures with post notes she had put up. "Wow" Bonnie gasped , "Have you Kol-proofed this?" she nodded, 'I've done my best."

"What about Damon-proofing?" Bonnie asked with an arched brow. Elena bit her lip, " That's the reason I chose it on this floor- Damon hates coming all the way up here." She felt a bit guilty lying to Damon all the time but this was what he did, he left her no choice. She took out all the pictures and began looking through them , while also pasting them on the wall under Klaus's tree she had created. "Is this man still in Klaus's gang?" she said pointing to a man wearing a denim jeans and a black shirt with a shaved head in the photo, apparently partying. "That's Ricardo, he's been in Klaus's gang forever, if he had cut ties, I would know because that would be breaking news, Klaus would have killed him."

Elena narrowed her eyes, as she chewed on the market in her hand, "I remember seeing him."

"Where?" Bonnie asked shocked.

"when I was with Kol, he was moving me out of this basement dockyard and I was crying for help to some men, I remember him because he laughed at me." She turned around and walked to the Lol tree, "We went to our 'honeymoon' to find Klaus which was Damon's motive initially, so could it be that Klaus was there actually and his men were too?"

"Of course that makes sense." Bonnie said as she looked at the pictures Elena was tracing the marker on. "One of Klaus's men was with Kol, so if we just stand by the theory that Klaus allowed some of his men to back up Kol that would make sense too, which explains Ricardo at site."

Bonnie grinned , "We can say Klaus backed him up on this."

"Exactly or if we become a bit flexible with the idea, we can say Klaus has always backed him up." She smiled wide , happy that finally an arrow had hit the target, Bonnie pursed her lips unsure of Elena's theory, "why would-?

She interrupted, "Kol knew his every move was being watched by my Dad and Damon, he knew he couldn't group up a bunch of men on my honeymoon there, so he used Klaus for this, traveling alone was convenient in this case, somewhere along the way him and Klaus worked on their differences."

"And why haven't they announced their union, it would shake everyone, they could have had people horrified." Bonnie frowned, picking up an old picture of Kol with his family.

"Because they have set a perfect trap for someone and I've been thinking about this for weeks Bon, I even tried to talk to Damon about it but he told me not to mention this stuff."

"What are you trying to say?" Bonnie asked clearly excited with curiosity, "Stefan." Elena breathed , "Damon thinks that Kol wanted to turn his brother against him and that's when the idea struck me, maybe not only Kol but Klaus too, because no matter how hard Lol tries, Stefan will never make an alliance with him, he would never join forces because of what Kol did to Caroline, but what is second best is Klaus, Stefan thinks Klaus and Kol are enemies , Stefan at the moment has also boycotted against Damon's leadership, both Kol and Damon have one enemy in common which Stefan will turn to help for and that's Klaus." For the first time Elena said her plans out loud and Bonnie was surprised at how further Elena had thought this out, "Well shouldn't we let Stefan know?"

She shook her head, "I don't think Stefan even wants to see my face, If I suggested he stay away from Klaus, the first thing he will do is have coffee with him, my word is ineffective."

Bonnie was unsure of what they were suppose to do with this new found discovery, Elena was taking this very seriously and by the way she looked Bonnie knew was not going to rely on giving suggestions and sitting back and watching. "Right now our only option is to beat the crap out of Lockwood so he gives us whatever to access Kol."

Bonnie nodded, but what if Elena hadn't properly cleared this room and Kol had heard everything?

Later that day they were suppose to go see Tyler but Damon suddenly came home and they delayed this plan, Damon just went to his room and took a shower following by sleeping, Elena figured out he hadn't slept the days he was not home because he didn't even make any conversation before going to bed but Elena and Bonnie still couldn't leave to check on Tyler. So she told Bonnie to go rest and went upstairs herself, quickly changing into comfy clothes. Nowadays she couldn't sleep from how nauseated she felt all the time and her best friend's memories kept flashing in front of her eyes causing her to be up and anxious, she was tried of this clockwork and wanted to be able to enjoy sleep like a normal person, not dread it, being with Damon made the process a bit easier because he always made her feel safe and whole. Her life had completely changed over the last few months but she felt that even if she lost everything and every ounce of happiness was squeezed out of her life, just being with Damon would still make up for everything, he made her feel complete In a different way, belonging to him could fill all the voids in her heart. Her eyes felt heavy as she crawled closer to him and rested her head on his chest her heart warmed when she felt his arm tightened around her.

(Tvd-Tvd-Tvd-Tvd)

"Don't you have to go?" Elena insisted leaning against the bathroom wall, Damon had been incredibly slow this morning getting ready and she was getting anxious to see if Tyler had cracked or not. Well she would if her husband hadn't been taking his sweet time getting ready, "I bet you spent an hour less of getting ready when we were getting married." She made another comment, she said once again when he didn't answer, he looked over his shoulder this time, the shaving cream lathered on his face, "Did I look that bad?"

"I don't know but I wasn't a fan of you back then." She said with a sigh, he grinned which she saw in the mirror, she hadn't see him smile in days now, "What's so funny?" he had a stupid smirk now, Elena just got very irritated when he smirked like that, like he knew something no one else did, "Just that you are a 'fan' now." He shrugged and she just knew that couldn't be the sole reason, he continued, "You use to be so uptight and oh I remember how you said you didn't like me and how you thought I am hopeless."

"What's the point in bringing this up?" she said with pursed lips, he turned around , his face clean now, "the point is that now you're head over heels in love with me, the servants in the house call me and tell me how you can't sleep at night without your oh so loving husband, I am an art inspiration in your life-" by this point Elena was profusely blushing, "Damon that's so childish-"

He ignored continuing, "You plan birthday parties for me no matter how terrible they go, you even went as far as changing your signature to Elena Salvatore, God you must be obsessed."

She knew he was joking but the joke was at her expense, she rolled her eyes, "Right, clearly I have a problem."

He leaned down slightly, "Clearly you do, so much for not liking me initially."

"So you want me to tell you that you won? Is this what's that's about my mentally twelve year old husband?" she said with a grin, his mouth fell open, she looked at him with a brow raised, "Oh I don't compete with my 'fans' " he touched the tip of her nose pushing her back slightly, she gasped and threw a play punch at his arm, "Enough, go to work." She said turning around to go.

"Why are you insisting I go to work? Is there something going on in my absence that shouldn't be going on?" he asked with a slight change in his voice now. Elena felt chills run down her spine when she felt his breath on her neck, she turned around to face him, "What would be going on Damon? I just want us to go back to our normal life."

"Well In normal life, you hate my 'work'." He said with a slight frown that scared her, as if he had figured out everything already. She shouldn't have said it so many times, "I thought we wouldn't bring it up again." She replied with a counter statement. He shrugged, "I just did, Elena I swear to god you'd-"

Suddenly she felt her eyes heavy, but not with sleep , with darkness-something seemed to be taking over , making his voice echo in a weird way, "Ah!" she touched her temple as she lost her balance, "Elena?" he questioned not sure what has happened but when her weight completely fell dead on him he knew she had passed out, he picked her up and walked her back to bed, rubbing her hands and her feet which felt a bit cold. He tapped her face calling her name, "Elena? Hey-Elena."

(Tvd-Tvd-Tvd-Tvd)

Doctor Olivia did a complete check up of her despite her insisting that she didn't wanna do it after she got up from passing out monetarily but then Damon said he wasn't going anywhere until she did it so Elena had to go through with her check up, "How much is she eating?" The woman was a tall, thin woman who seemed to be in her late forties, dark hair and pale skin. "I haven't been home much." Damon actually felt guilty about not checking in on Elena's nutrition over the past few days, of course after her abduction her appetite had decreased but Caroline's death must have also caused an influence which he completely missed. How could he be so careless. "I've had breakfast." Elena raised her voice slightly from the bed so she could be heard , "I guess I am just tired."

"She has some issues with her sleeping schedule." Damon interrupted , irony how he made a joke about it earlier , " I am completely okay." Elena said, sitting up in bed, both the doctor and her husband looked at her and the doctor sighed, "Well your blood sugar was extremely low and you haven't been getting proper sleep. Miss Bennett said ever since you've come back from Italy you've felt nauseated."

"I really get a weird infection if my water or food changes a bit so that might be the reason, just need a couple of days to settle." She explained, Olivia nodded, "Well I think it's better if we run some tests because I think it might be a pregnancy." She looked unsure if the couple would be happy or angered at the news, they just looked at each other a bit surprised, "So do we do this test?"

"Absolutely." Damon agreed in a weird tone and Elena too nodded her head.

(Tvd-Tvd-Tvd-Tvd)

She was happy and yet she felt like a criminal, standing near the window of her room, she could feel the soft wind caress her face and dance with her hair, she's going to have a baby, in the past she hadn't been eager for it but ever since she lost her pregnant best friend who had been so excited about her child, with whom Elena had shared her journey of falling in love with an unborn child, trying to design a world for it, plan for it , her perspective had slightly changed and it wasn't built around buying small sized clothed and designing a child's room or selecting the colour theme, she was genuinely looking forward to meet this beautiful life, who was a symbol of love, who was an embodiment of hope in her life, she was in such a dark place and this news just pulled her out immediately, her mind was no longer just a place where she was plotting Kol's murder. It was no longer a home of awful memories, for now it was filled with the idea of making memories with this life, the love they will share, the adventures they will go on. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she thought about Caroline, she never got to have this and now Elena felt her loss at a much deeper level. Though she was happy it made her all the more guilty for being the reason of such devastation.

"Oh the waterworks." She heard Damon's slight sarcastic voice and felt his strong arms wrap around her, she quickly wiped her cheeks with her palms and sighed "I thought you were coming home late."

"Nope...you've been sulking so hard you even missed my car" he pointed to the gate and dropped a kiss against her temple, "What's the matter."

She shrugged, "I don't know, maybe hormones-" he chuckled, "Baby you're six weeks pregnant today. You just heard the doctor say they are gonna start and the first thing you do is step right into it."

She turned her face slightly to him , slightly pouting , "You're a jerk for invalidating my feelings." He huffed, turning her to himself , "I am not invalidating your feelings, I am trying to know what you're thinking because I know it's not just mood swings."

She pursed her lips as she couldn't maintain eye contact with him , "I was thinking about Care again."

His face tensed up for a moment before he breathed out and cupped her face, "I know what you're thinking, I've been thinking the same thing, I haven't even told Stefan yet, its seems cruel to share this with him but at the same time , he's going to find out some way and hate me more than he does now."

She didn't wanna agree with Damon but she knew Stefan had went completely blind in revenge, he was unable to recognise who were his friends and who weren't, she slowly looped her arms around his neck and whispered, "It's not your fault, Damon. I know you want to protect the both of us."

"He doesn't think so." He let out a humourless chuckle , "I don't know what's going to happen if he keeps on going against me."

She bit her lip and cupped a side of his face, "Well at least everything is okay right now, right in this moment. I have everything I could ever ask for." She whispered and rose on her heels to capture his lips, his lips brushed against her soft lips slowly , the slow movements turning demanding and passionate by the second, his lips kissed down her jaw to her neck as she peppered kisses on his temple and his cheek, he pulled back slightly and picked her up , walking up to the bed, she gasped when he gently dropped her on the bed and covered her body with his, planting kisses down her neck to her heaving chest, she could never explain to him how these moments of being apart did to her, with a soft whimper she raised up slightly, helping him remove the soft lavender dress from her body, leaving her in white lacy underwear, he looked at her in appreciation, his lips lingered over hers before he kissed her, she felt his firm muscles under her fingers as she ran her hands up and down his strong arms while their lips moved together, her legs had wrapped around him and her hips were moving against him in a way which tortured and pleasured her at teh same time but she needed more, her hand moved down to his jeans , pulling back slightly with hazy eyes, she pulled up his dark blue shirt over his head, sighing at the sight of him, a sudden feeling of insecurity wrapped her when she thought about her slightly swollen belly, her hand still resting on his belt, now contemplating everything. Seeing her holding back slightly, he tipped up her chin, making her meet his eyes, "You okay?" she seemed to snap out of it and pursed her lips, "I- uh, do you think I've gained a bit too much weight?"

"You're pregnant sweetheart." He said cupping her face, "You're perfect." He said running his hands down her body slowly in a soothing manner, "If this is in your head because of me, I just want to let you know how insane that is because you drive me crazy." He winked at her slightly holding the hand that was resting on his belt and placed it over his hardness, "I want you every second of the day. You understand that?" he whispered and crashed his lips against her, demanding her mouth for entrance, she opened her lips for him, her fears and insecurities subsiding by the feeling of how amazing his body felt pressed against her, and having his hands all over herself. Feeling bold, she reached for his belt and unbuckled him as he panted wet kisses against her jaw, down her ear, which was her soft spot, she moaned, hardly managing to unzip his jeans, he kissed down her neck to her now slightly fuller breasts, he loved how they were slightly heavier than before, he absolutely loved that his baby was changing her body in so many beautiful ways, he couldn't have enough of her and here she was being unsure of herself for no reason. She arched her back when he took her pointed nipple into his mouth, she cried out his name, her hands grabbing on to his hair as he sucked on her swollen bud and then pushed her soft breasts together, taking the other nipple in to his warm mouth. Her hips raised up, her lace underwear felt like a soft barrier between her wet heat and his hardness, "I need you right now." She moaned moving her hips against his, she gasped when he parted from her heaving breasts and he slowly moved lower and pressed a kiss to her belly looking up and her momentarily, "I love you." He murmured, a small smile spread on her lips seeing his content face, she could tell he had yearned for this as much as her. His fingers now playing with the white lace of her underwear and her breath was again caught in her throat as she was feeling more sensitive to touch than ever, his lips brushing against the inside of her thigh, his thumb slightly going over her button in a teasing manner, she raised her hips in anticipation and moved her hands to take off her panties but he stopped her which irritated her a lot, why couldn't he understand that she needed him right now, "Please." She couldn't believe he was making her beg at this point, letting go of her wrist, she gasped when he tore the white lace off her, but still no relief, she cried with need and attempted to arch further, he smirked against her heat thinking it was enough torture, he licked at her sensitive bundle of nerves and also inserted a finger inside her, her muscles already contracted around it, and she began to move her hips in desperation, he added another finger , moving it in and out of her while sucking on her rosy button , she felt like she was going to fall into oblivion by the end of this, it felt like heaven, she felt the knots inside her tighten as his fingers moved in and out of her and he began licking up the juices leaking out of her, screaming his name, she came all over his fingers and her eyes met his as he was licking his fingers looking at her, she bit her lip feeling a bit turned on already, this pregnancy has definitely impacted her sex drive in a way, but having a generous lover as her husband,. She wasn't going to complain, she chuckled when he climbed up her body so quickly, their foreheads bumped slightly, she giggled when she saw him frown like he hurt his head, "You enjoy my pain, don't you." He accused in a dramatic manner, "No I just like watching you mess up for a change." She giggled rubbing his forehead lightly , "Should have been a bit patient." She said wrapping her legs around his trunk, "Like I told you, baby, I am crazy about you- you see that now? " he loved the way she was giggling and massaging his forehead, "I see that and I love you so much for it." She whispered and kissed the spot on his forehead, parting slightly to look into his eyes, her mouth fell open when she felt the head of his hard member at her entrance, she moved her hips slightly and he thrusted right in, her head fell back as he started moving against her with hard and deep strokes and the feeling of being filled by him completely took over her senses, she cried out his name in pleasure each time he would fill her to the hilt, it never seemed enough, "More." She moaned against his neck and bit him softly as his movements became a bit fast and frantic, she wanted to make him feel good as well so she began to move her hips back and squeeze him with her muscles , their friction felt amazing, soon she was on the edge, his thrusts too became too hard and deep , touching every spot inside her that was setting her off towards her release, she loved the way they came together and claimed down the highs in Union, she felt completely sated content. After a while , he removed herself from her and lied by her side , stroking her hair as she rested her head on his chest thinking of the risks she was going to take to save her happiness, Damon and her baby.

(Tvd-Tvd-Tvd-Tvd)

This was a big step for him, Stefan had always abided by the rules Damon created and one of those rules were to never ever trust an enemy, but he thought of it in a different way, 'the enemy of an enemy is a friend' to be honest Klaus Michaelson wasn't his enemy, he was Damon's enemy, his sole enemy was Kol , he was the one that Stefan was after and in this case Klaus could help more than Damon. Thus going by Damon's code was stupid. Yet he was a bit unsure of this situation. Klaus had immediately agreed to meet him, he didn't put any 'no-weapon' rule for their meeting which was a bit reassuring.

"I knew the brother-brother thing won't work out, mine didn't." Klaus snickered taking a sip from his whiskey, Stefan was sitting on the chair, Placed In front of Klaus's desk, his office had a weird red theme and everything very royal like which irked him because Stefan liked things better at their place, which was minimal and classy, "I am not here to talk about Damon, I am here to talk about Kol. The last information I got, I lost my eight men to it, Sergei isn't happy because one of the guys was his most trusted."

"That old man is going die in a few days so his warnings don't matter to me. Klaus laughed dismissing the idea, " In fact , he's going to have a direct problem with Damon because of it."

"I and Damon are no longer working together so this is on me." Stefan seethed, he hated when people didn't take him seriously, " That is weird because half of the guys you have-"

"They wanted to join me." Stefan said rather proud. Klaus gave a humourless chuckle "And Capo let them? That's insane, Damon would have skinned them alive, he allowed them to you, in fact I think they are outing you to Damon."

"What are you-"

Klaus interrupted , "Its the truth Stefan no matter how much of a big boy you think you are. Italy would eat you for breakfast if it weren't for your brother, he even sabotaged your raid last month."

Klaus threw a bunch of photos on the table and Stefan picked them up looking at them, one of his reliable guy , Patrick, taking with Damon, "Isn't it weird Stefan, that the people who continue to be with in contact with Damon are surviving."

Stefan gritted his teeth at the thought, why couldn't his brother leave him alone for once, why couldn't he trust Stefan with his own decisions.

"And have you heard about the new talk of town, Damon and his wife are expecting a kid now. So his priorities have shifted for a while, he has completely aligned with Grayson, Butorin trusts Grayson so Damon has an advantage over that right now, he plans to completely move his set up to Russia, rumours are that he's even going to move away with Elena, to someplace unknown until he can get his hands on Kol and me."

This couldn't be real, Damon would tell him if he was changing his life like that, moving away, having a kid, that was so unfair, but he didn't believe Damon sabotaged his attack and it seemed as if he did, Stefan fisted the corner of the picture he was holding in his hand, this seemed like betrayal , his life was completely ruined and Damon got to live his dream?

(Tvd-Tvd-Tvd-Tvd)

Stefan was towering the dead body at his feet, he did it finally- he looked up at his men who were looking at him somewhat surprised as how he all of sudden shot Patrick in the face, Stefan pointed the gun to them, "Anyone of you here associated with Damon Salvatore is going to suffer this exact fate. I don't need a fucking babysitter. Do you get it? So if anyone of you is here because of that speak now or suffer the consequences later. I do not need traitors!"

There was dead silence in the room and Stefan looked around since more before walking out of there, his phone rung loudly in his pocket and he ignored it a couple times but it wouldn't stop ringing so he picked it up, "Stefan, it's me, don't hang up." The voice seemingly soft, it made him flinch with anger because he knew who it was, "What do you want, Elena?"

(Tvd-Tvd-Tvd-Tvd)

A/N: hey guys I know exactly where I am taking this story and trust me I am sooo excited about it. I know I've been MIA but it's because my laptop isn't working and I can't get it fixed due to the pandemic. I typed this on my phone because I felt like I needed to write this down, the next chapter is going to be amazing and I need you guys to review and tell me if you like the story and you are enjoying it, all my stories are going to be completed so don't worry. Please REVIEW this story so I keep writing more of them!


	19. Family is everything

"You have to trust me." Elena said in a gentle tone but the man In front of her didn't seem like he was convinced just yet. "You and I both want revenge, Stefan." She gave her reason without beating about the bush. He looked the other way unable to meet her eyes. A part of him was now regretting that he agreed to meet with her. But the whole 'Caroline' was my friend card she pulled really made him do it.

She had taken him to this abandoned building for what exactly? He had been so mad at his brother for trying to build a new life for himself while he had been hurting, a part of him wanted to abduct Elena so Damon could have a taste of what it felt like to live without the person you love. But then he knew how Damon had been when Kol had done that. He had been two things; miserable and dangerous. Stefan didn't know if he had the right amount of supporters to be messing with Damon who actually ruled half the mob

"What is your proposal?" he said getting straight to the point, "What do you even have that can ever help me?"

She huffed, she was wearing a very loose black dress today, her bump had started to seem noticeable and she didn't want Stefan to find out and feel cheated, "Follow me." She said as she headed for the dark stair case, it started to feel a bit useless to rely on Elena's what could she possibly have. She stopped at the top floor and turned around in the corridor, "Where are you taking me? Does Damon know you are here?"

"No and you won't let him know." She said without turning around, kind of sounding like his brother, wow- he did influence her in some way, Stefan remembered her to be fragile and shy when they first got married, now she was throwing around orders?

She stopped at a door and turned around, "I am trusting you Stefan, I need you on my team- you need to rethink your alliance with Klaus."

Stefan was surprised for a moment, "How do you know about that? Don't tell me your people are also –"

She interrupted, "I didn't stalk you. I just knew Klaus's move." She opened the door and In front of him, he could see a man tied to a chair, bruised and tired- his head leaning down as if he were asleep or...

"This is Tyler Lockwood." Elena said as she walked onto the room and across the desk to Tyler, she grabbed his hair and pulled at them to show his face to Stefan, "I've had him here for two and a half months- last night he finally talked ." she said looking at him, Stefan was still at the door but then stepped inside, "I know him- what does he have to do with anything?"

Elena was tapping Tyler's face as if waking him up still looking at Stefan as she talked, "Kol hired him, he got inside the house and that's how Kol knew everything going on in there from him. He was also given the job to ruin my marriage, Kol told me that." She said getting a bit annoyed that Tyler wasn't waking up, she rolled her eyes reaching for the water on the desk and splashed it cruelly on Tyler's face, "Get up lover, someone's here to see you." Tyler coughed weakly and tried to open his eyes, "Arhh you bitch-" he said barely above a whisper. Stefan was a bit surprised at this new 'side' of Elena. It was like she was no longer that girl he knew, had she always been like this? "So last night, he told me a beautiful story about how he met Kol and where we can possibly find him."

"You were here last night? This place is wrecked how did Damon not notice? Is this some plan of you and Damon to get me on your side." He asked as he stepped closer to the seat. She shook her head, "Damon is out of the country after that guy you got killed in the raid, he's making negotiations with the old man so he won't kill you."

Again- his brother trying to protect him was so annoying, he kind of understood what Elena felt now- it was like Damon thought everyone around him was stupid. Stefan shrugged the thought away and looked down at Tyler, "Wow you have some balls, Lockwood." He chuckled darkly and took out his gun pointing it at Tyler's temple, ready to shoot. Elena pushed his gun away, "Are you stupid?"

"What? You said you got the info- let's get rid of him." He couldn't help but now think 'they' were some team. Elena shook her head, maybe she hadn't changed after all, she couldn't see 'death'.

"Elena-"

She interrupted, "We need him Stefan, he's going to take us to Kol and you are going to help me with it."

"What?" he frowned. Elena nodded, "I purposely kept him here for a long time , Kol probably knows he's missing. Klaus and Kol have joined hands- they wanted to corner you to kill you, Damon knew that- that's why he got his men to join you but I guess that may have pissed you off."

"What is your point?" Stefan said with gritted teeth, she licked her lips looking at Tyler, "We have to let them believe that you are stepping into their trap- Kol knows Tyler is missing, which means Klaus knows as well, you have to take Tyler back- eventually Kol is going to make a move to either take Tyler or kill him."

"If this is such a secret place, how come Kol knows that Tyler is kidnapped? Why hasn't he tried to break Tyler from here?" he asked with a smirk. Elena stood a bit confused for a second before saying, "Because I know he does- I purposely let Kol know by telling my plan to a person that's working for him."

"What?" Stefan asked baffled. She nodded, "However, this right here is something Kol doesn't know about because that person doesn't know I am going to include you in the plan."

"How are you so sure I'll do what you ask me to?" he raised a brow stepping aside from Tyler as if going out of the room, Elena followed him and held his hand to stop him, "Stefan, you're going to be an uncle." Her voice above a whisper- but it started resembling the 'old' her- the kind and naïve Elena.

"I am doing things that I usually don't believe in like lying, scheming and torturing people for the sole reason of my child's safety. I know how much you loved your baby- even if you didn't get to see it."

He hissed trying to pull his hand from her hold but she held it, "Don't." He warned looking at her, she could see the wetness in his eyes which broke her heart too, "Please Stefan, I know what you feel- she was my best friend, I loved her like a sister. I want to take revenge as much as you do. If we don't do this together-we are weak, he will kill you and me, If he kills the baby Damon is going to go through what you went through, I know you wouldn't wish it upon him, you don't hate him that much, you don't hate him at all." She cupped the side of his face, "Please Stef."

(Tvd-Tvd-Tvd-Tvd)

She picked up her bags from the back of the car and walked back to the house, when she entered Bonnie came running to her, "Oh my God Lena, where were you, Boss is back."

Colour drained from her face, she stuttered, "I just went to the mall to shop for the baby." She said showing Bonnie the bags. Her husband maybe heard her voice or her car because he was now stepping down the stairs fast and she was preparing herself for his aggressive episode, "Elena." He said ignoring Bonnie's presence and holding her by her arms as If inspecting, "Are you okay? Come here." He said wrapping his arms around her, she felt so guilty because Damon sounded worried about her he was stroking her hair as if he couldn't believe it was her, his fear of losing her took over him when he didn't saw her home.

"Damon I am okay." She chuckled, "I just went out for like three hours."

That's when he pulled back, "Just three hours? A minute is enough for them to hurt you, you didn't even take Bonnie."

He pointed at the girl standing silently by their side, "She didn't know I was going- besides-"

Damon let her go and turned to the slightly scared girl, Bonnie was just very scared of her boss which Elena thought was a bit too much, but again Damon was her husband and he was different with his employees than he was with her.

"Bennett I think I've been clear about this." He said now sounding more like he would when he'd be angry. "Damon I told you-" Elena tried to cup his face but he held her wrist still facing Bonnie, "I think I've made a mistake giving you such a huge responsibility- you think this is a joke, she's not your friend, she's my wife and her protection should be your top priority. I don't fucking care what you had to do it wasn't as important." He spat, "Now stop looking at me and go." He said harshly, Bonnie nodded , turning around to leave, "And tell the kitchen to make Elena dinner while you're at it." He shouted the order. Elena shook her head at his behaviour, he shifted his attention back to her, taking the bags from her hand, "Come on- let's get you back in your room."

"Damon, you didn't have to shout at her like that." Elena said as he followed her to the room, "She use to be so good at her job, that's why I trusted her with you- "

"I didn't want her to go with me." Elena said as he opened the door to their room and held her hand to make her sit on the bed, she rolled her eyes as he began to take off her shoes, slowly massaging her feet, "Fine, you didn't but it's not a choice for her, it's a job- I didn't pick her up from the streets for this." He said tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, "You can't do this all the time Elena, I get really worried, especially now."

"Okay- but how are you back so soon?" she asked a brow raised, "You said you'd be back in a week or so."

He huffed leaning forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning down and kissing her small bump, "I just got done with it as soon as I could, they won't go after Stefan now, I've given them a guarantee- I was paranoid about you and the baby- when I didn't see you here it felt like every fear I had just came true. I am so relieved right now that I am not even upset at you."

Elena smiled at his calm tone, she ran her fingers through his hair as he pressed kisses against her bump lovingly.

"So what did you get?" he asked after a while, still his head in her lap, she was resting against the headboard just enjoying these peaceful moments, "Do you want me to show you?" she asked. He nodded moving away to give her space, Elena reached for the bags and took out a box, "I really liked this- It's for a boy but it was so cute I couldn't resist buying it." She took out a baby blue teddy romper, it was almost the size of his arm- he ran his hand on the material- fascinated.

"Do you like it?" she asked . He nodded and looked up at her, "I was just thinking of how long do I have to wait to see our baby in this."

She smiled, "Only six more months." Elena reminded him, he reached to touch her belly again as she took out other boxes, "I love this beanie." She said showing him something a the size of his hand, "It's so small." He chuckled- she loved how happy he looked whenever he talked about the baby or it's things. "You think that is small? Look at this-" she said as she took out a shoe, it was a neon with silver at the bottom, he laughed holding it from her hand, "It's about the size of my thumb- this cannot be real."

She thought he looked adorable when he sounded this excited, "It is actually. Do you like it?"

"I do- I really do, we should go together next time." He said keeping the shoe back in the box, "So you think we're having a boy?"

She shrugged, "I don't know- do you have any idea in mind? What do you want?"

He bit his lip, "Well I've already told you what I want- as long as the baby is okay." He said after a sigh, "If we have a boy, we can plan a baby in a few years and have a girl too... personally I want five kids." Elena's jaw dropped at his 'wish'.

"Okay four." He said after a chuckle, "Stefan and I are just two boys, we didn't have any cousins that I remember- so I always really wanted a huge family." He said with a childlike grin.

"I'll think about it." Elena said a bit hesitant, he laughed a bit at how she was suddenly so alarmed- he kissed the top of her head, "Look it's your decision at the end- you're already giving me everything I've ever wanted." He kissed her temple this time and she looked up, stealing a kiss from his lips, "I feel like it's a boy." She said in an excited tone, "but if it's a girl I am naming her after Caroline."

His arms wrapped around her and he pulled her closer to himself, resting her head against his shoulder, "Okay, whatever you wish for my love, I am going to just be here to love you and this baby."

(Tvd-Tvd-Tvd-Tvd)

"There you go." Stefan said as he showed a clip of Tyler locked in a room to Klaus, "This man is going to lead us to Kol."

He noticed how Klaus wasn't even surprised at the revelation, "who is he?"

"Tyler Lockwood- we appointed him to tutor Elena, but it was a set up from Kol so he could spy on her, a source told me that Damon's most trusted Bonnie had locked him up to find out Kol's location and I got him from there." He explained. Klaus brows furrowed, he looked a bit nervous as he rubbed his thumb against his forehead, "So did he say anything about Kol yet?"

Stefan nodded, "Glad you asked- according to him, he met Kol through a guy named Scott Parker, the man was head of the department at Tyler's university, he is in the business- most of the student groups that used to indirectly smuggle for Kol are monitored by him- I got the man abducted- he fessed up about where we could find Kol which is where Damon and his men did a raid months ago, so we're back to Tyler- Tyler knows more than he's telling right now because the guy was with Kol when Elena Gilbert Salvatore got kidnapped in Andros- he flew back the day after Elena was found, Kol was with him up till then- you know what that means?"

"That he's closer to Kol. Why would he ever lead us to him?" Klaus said after an amused laugh, Stefan huffed, "Police found a dead body on the island- starlet Rose Marie, of course you don't check on the Hollywood bull crap but it's a big deal- luckily for us Tyler had sex with a hooker in a park two years ago and got arrested for public indecency- so he was on the record."

"His DNA is on Rose-Marie?" Klaus caught on, Stefan nodded, "Tge police has been sniffing for him like dogs – his skin and hair were clutched in her nails- If Tyler doesn't lead us – he'll have to deal with the murder trial."

Klaus sat back in his seat, looking at Stefan and the things spread on the table, "Wow – I must say I am impressed."

"Kol will meet his end, anyone helping him will follow." Stefan said firmly getting up the chair to leave the cabin, Klaus saw him go and picked up his phone, "How did Tyler get away?" he spoke in a calm tone but he was infuriated.

"What he got away?" the voice on the other end surprised. "Yes- Stefan has him now- I thought you had everything under control."

"Look I don't know- I never got the information, I've been updating you since the start." The voice pleaded, "Give me a chance I can fix this."

"What will you do? You fucked it up." The man said a bit loud.

"I'll get the work done please give me sometime."

He shook his head and warned, "You have one day Bonnie Bennett- do what you can ." he said a put the phone down.

.

.

.

A/N : thank you guys for being so supportive of the stories I write- I really appreciate your patience and your love. Share your thoughts in the reviews, I love to read them.Please check out my new one shot "The second secret" if you haven't. It's a long one shot that I really like and I hope you do too.

Summary 'The second secret' :

"Elena is Stefan's girlfriend." Damon reminds himself that he can't have her ever but what about their summer? What about their secret? (TRAUMA /ABUSE) -WARNING


End file.
